DENVER – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $203,332 in back wages after an investigation found a Denver landscaping company owned by a father and son – Fermin and Roberto Daniel Guardado – denied overtime wages to 14 workers, and failed to keep complete records as the law requires.

The department also barred the company from hiring H-2B workers for five years for its violations of the H-2B worker program.

Investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Grandview Landscaping Inc. underpaid 14 workers, 10 of whom had H-2B worker visas for landscaping. The employer made illegal deductions from the workers’ wages for transportation to and from their native countries and illegally employed some workers in construction to remodel Roberto Daniel Guardado’s home. The division also learned the employer intimidated and coerced employees to give false statements to federal investigators.

In addition to the back wages, the division assessed $111,609 in civil money penalties for the nature of the violations.

“H-2B workers can be especially vulnerable to wage shortages and other violations of their rights,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Chad Frasier in Denver. Employers who use H-2B program workers must comply with its regulations, or face potentially being barred from the program for not following the rules. The H-2B program has certain recruitment and displacement standards to protect similarly employed U.S. workers.”

Based in Denver, Grandview Landscaping Inc. offers tree and lawn care, irrigation, fencing and brick and stone contracting services to residential and commercial customers.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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LAS VEGAS – After a 2013 investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor that recovered $47,393 from a Nevada paint and specialty coatings contractor and its owner whose illegal pay practices denied 21 Utah workers overtime wages, a reasonable employer might try to avoid repeating a bad and costly decision.

Cory Summerhays, owner of Unforgettable Coatings Inc. – a Las Vegas company operating in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Utah – chose instead to double down, and then some. 

In January 2023, the department obtained a consent judgment in federal court in Las Vegas requiring the company and its owner to pay more than $3.6 million in back wages, liquidated damages, interest and penalties to 593 employees in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Utah.

The action follows a five-month investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the employer falsified pay records to deprive workers of earned overtime wages and then intimidated workers who questioned the company’s pay practices. These are all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In September 2019, the division expanded its probe to include a second joint investigation between its offices in Las Vegas and Phoenix that covered the company’s operations from September 2016 until December 2020. The investigation included cooperation with the local district council of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and ARRIBA Las Vegas Workers Center, both of which provided useful information about workers and their employment conditions.

Investigators found Unforgettable Coatings Inc. and Summerhays illegally paid straight time for all hours worked including hours over 40 in a workweek, falsified payroll records by omitting some workers, and required some workers to volunteer their time to work on weekends without pay.

The division also determined Summerhays deliberately hid the company’s theft of overtime by falsifying pay records. The employer hired employees to work between $12 and $25 an hour, but – among other things –

created pay stubs showing a lower hourly rate to avoid paying the workers overtime based on their agreed-upon rate. Through the employer’s complex scheme, employees were ultimately paid straight time for all hours worked.  

Investigators also learned Summerhays threatened workers and stated that talking to the department could involve immigration consequences. He reduced all workers’ wages by 30 percent and cut employees’ hours if he believed they cooperated with the investigation. In April 2020 – in the course of the litigation – the department’s Office of the Solicitor obtained a federal court order forbidding Summerhays and Unforgettable Coatings from retaliating, intimidating or discriminating against current or former employees who cooperated with investigators. Despite that order, department investigators later discovered that Unforgettable Coatings continued to retaliate against workers and fired an employee for complaining about the company’s pay practices. As a result, the Solicitor’s Office sought to hold Unforgettable Coatings and Summerhays in contempt, but Unforgettable Coatings and Summerhays settled before the court ruled on the matter.

“The wage theft committed by Cory Summerhays and Unforgettable Coatings Inc. was egregious and willful. The employer denied nearly 600 workers in four states their hard-earned overtime pay, attempted to hide their greed and illegal actions, and retaliated against workers who asked why they were being cheated,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “To their credit, several brave employees came forward to exercise their rights. We hope the outcome of this case gives other workers the confidence to come forward and report wage theft to the Wage and Hour Division.”

The division’s investigations determined Unforgettable Coatings Inc. and Summerhays owed the affected workers in four states a total of $1,809,249 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The department also assessed the employer $50,000 in civil money penalties due to the willful nature of its violations, and an additional $18,092 in interest.

“After stealing their employees’ wages, Cory Summerhays and Unforgettable Coatings repeatedly tried to silence their workers and undermine the department’s efforts to vindicate these workers’ rights,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The Solicitor’s Office is committed to taking every legal step necessary to empower workers to come forward. We will swiftly obtain court orders against vindictive employers, oppose intimidating inquiries into workers’ irrelevant immigration status, and defend workers’ ability to speak directly to the department and through their trusted community partners.”  

Litigation by the department revealed Summerhays had established another company – Final Touch Painting in Idaho – where the employer also falsified payroll records by representing hourly wages as bonus pay. Back wages and liquidated damages calculated in this case were included in the consent judgment.

Founded in 2007, Unforgettable Coatings Inc. is a commercial and residential roof coating and painting contractor based in Las Vegas with locations in several states including Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho. In June 2020, Inc. Magazine included the company on its annual list of “Best Workplaces.”

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Timesheet App for Android and iOS – now available in Spanish – for free.

AURORA, IL – While workers at a local supermarket stocked shelves, operated cash registers and served customers Mexican hot foods and baked goods, their Aurora employer was denying them their hard-earned overtime pay for two years, the U.S. Department of Labor recently found.

After its investigation, the department’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered a total of $399,851 in back wages and liquidated damages for 49 workers at Supermercado Carrera, a family-owned supermarket.

Division investigators determined the supermarket’s operator paid several employees straight-time wages for overtime and shortchanged them of the legally required time and one-half premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also incorrectly classified some employees as exempt from overtime. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In addition to $199,925 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, Supermercado Carrera also paid $734 in civil money penalties the division assessed after investigators found that a minor-aged employee worked beyond permitted hours. ​

“The nearly $400,000 in back wages and damages our investigation recovered will make a significant difference in the lives of 49 workers and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tom Gauza in Chicago. “Typically, small grocers employ low-wage and vulnerable workers likely unaware of their basic rights to the federal minimum wage and overtime pay. Workers in the U.S. have the right to be paid their full earned wages.”

In fiscal year 2022, the Wage and Hour Division’s office in Chicago recovered $6.4 million, in back wages and $647,000 in liquidated damages for more than 6,400 workers. Most commonly, the division found violations of overtime and minimum wage. In the first four months of fiscal year 2023, the office has recovered $1.6 million in back wages and $814,000 in liquidated damages for 1,182 workers.

“We continue to work with local worker’s advocacy groups, consulates and other community resources to educate workers about their rights. Failing to pay accurate wages is an issue across a myriad of industries,” Gauza added. “Employers or workers with questions should reach out to Wage and Hour for information.”

Learn about FLSA rules for the retail Industry.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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Employer:                  Senior Healthcare Advisors LLC

Investigation site:      816 S Military Trail

                                    Deerfield Beach, FL 33442

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the healthcare benefits services company misclassified its employees as independent contractors and paid them straight-time rates for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek. By doing so, the employer did not pay the additional half-time rate for overtime as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires. In addition, Senior Healthcare Advisors failed to include earned commissions into some employees’ regular pay rates, and paid overtime at lower rates than the FLSA requires as a result.

The employer also failed to provide a general notice to its employees informing them of their Family and Medical Leave Act rights.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Recovered: $106,248 for 68 workers                                    

Quote: “Misclassifying workers as independent contractors denies them wage protections and other important benefits, making makes it harder for them to provide for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel Cronin in Miami. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division to ensure their pay practices comply with the law, and invite employees to contact us with any questions or concerns.”

Background: Senior Healthcare Advisors LLC operates Medicare benefits call centers out of Deerfield Beach and Pembroke Pines and sells Medicare policies on behalf of national insurance carriers.

Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. The division also offers numerous online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements and resources on misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Workers who feel they may not be getting the wages they earned may contact a Wage and Hour Division representative in their state through a list and interactive online map on the agency’s website. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

Employer:                              Heine Brothers Inc.

Investigation site:                  1301 W. Main St.

                                                Louisville, KY 40203

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the operator of a Louisville coffee shop redistributed tips improperly and diverted workers’ tips to managers. Heine Brothers also failed to keep a record for tips, specifically pennies which it mandated be donated to a charity, violations of minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Assessed: The agency recovered $150,000 in back wages for 492 workers and an equal amount in liquidated damages.                                      

Quote: “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting the rights of workers and ensuring that they receive all the hard-earned wages they rely on to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. “In this case, our collaboration with the National Conference of Fireman and Oilers provided important help in our efforts to protect the rights of nearly 500 workers whose employer denied them their full wages.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including its search tool to learn if you are owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

Date of action:                       Jan. 17, 2023

Type of action:                      U.S. Department of Labor complaint

Names of defendants:           Pigeon Forge Hospitality LLC; Nimesh Patel

Allegations: The department alleges that Pigeon Forge Hospitality LLC and Nimesh Patel – operator of a Comfort Inn & Suites hotel in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee – willfully and repeatedly failed to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage rate and did not pay them at least one-and-on-half times their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek – in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The department also alleges that the employer employed two minors under the age of 12 as hotel workers, and employed a 15-year-old minor in non-excepted baking and cooking activities, a hazardous occupation under federal law.

Quote: “The U.S. Department of Labor will not allow employers, such as Pigeon Forge Hospitality LLC, to exploit workers and endanger minor-aged children,” said U.S. Department of Labor Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “Employers who willfully violate labor laws at the expense of employees and competitors must understand that we will do everything within our rights, including litigation, to bring them to justice.”

Court:                                     U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville

Docket Number:                    3:23-cv-00020

Employer:  Orlando Health Medical Group Inc. - Operating as Orlando Health Medical Group Urology

Investigation sites: 

303 E. Par St., Orlando, FL 32804 (Headquarters)

865 Oakley Seaver Drive, Clermont, FL 43711

392 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, FL 32746

1000 W. Broadway St., Oviedo, FL 32765

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer allowed some employees to work off-the-clock without compensation, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employees reported to work before their scheduled shift time or stayed after their shift would end to perform work. In addition, Orlando Health failed to pay overtime premiums on annual non-discretionary bonuses earned by employees for hours over 40 hours in a workweek. Investigators also determined the employer failed to keep complete and accurate records of the number of hours worked by employees.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Recovered: $244,011 for 49 workers.                                               

Quote: “Employees have a right to be compensated for all the work they do. When employers fail to pay employees for all the hours they work, they get the benefits of that labor and take advantage of these workers unfairly,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “The U.S. Department of Labor enforces federal protections of workers’ rights to make sure they are paid as the law requires.”

“Today’s workers can choose to work for employers who value them, pay them full wages and respect their rights as workers,” De Jesus added. “Employers who comply with labor law and appreciate the dignity of work will have a clear advantage when it comes to retaining and recruiting the people they need for their businesses to operate.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division confidentially at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. The division also offers numerous online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements. Workers who feel they may not be getting the wages they earned may contact a Wage and Hour Division representative in their state through a list and interactive online map on the agency’s website. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division

LITTLE ROCK, AR – A federal investigation has recovered $39,436 in back wages for 23 H-2A workers employed by a Marvell cotton gin, whose operator failed to comply with worker protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Service Cooperative Gin Co. Inc. violated federal overtime provisions that provide a partial exemption from overtime pay during the active ginning season. The division also determined that the employer failed to maintain required records of workers’ earnings and pay statements as required by the H-2A program. In addition to the back wages recovered, the department assessed $2,277 in penalties for the violations.                                        

“The Wage and Hour Division can, and will, enforce worker protections for all workers in the U.S.,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Hanz Grünauer in Little Rock, Arkansas. “Employers who utilize H-2A workers must comply with applicable laws and regulations including the FLSA. This case shows that employers who fail to comply may face costly consequences including back wages and penalties.”

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages. Workers can call the division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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MADISON, WI – Five years after leaving their Guatemalan and Mexican homes for jobs promised by owners of two Wisconsin forestry companies and discovering they would not receive the wages, benefits and types of jobs described in their contracts, 263 workers will finally receive $1.1 million in unpaid wages after extensive federal investigations. 

The lengthy resolution began with a U.S. Department of Labor review of H-2B Visa program certification contracts from 2016 to 2018 held by Northwoods Forestry Inc. and A&C Forestry Services LLC, both located in Eleva. The department’s Wage and Hour Division identified several violations of H-2B Visa program requirements, including improper job classification and employment outside the area of intended employment.

While the employers sought and contracted the H-2B forestry workers for jobs in Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, investigators learned they illegally placed the workers in non-forestry occupations in the Eau Claire and Abbotsford areas. The occupations included meat processing, concrete finishing, painting, roofing and landscaping. Northwoods and A&C also failed to pay the prevailing wage rates and overtime disclosed on the job order and made illegal deductions for transportation and safety expenses.

The employers paid most workers straight time for all hours worked at rates between $12 and $14 per hour, well below the required prevailing wage rate, in violation of their H-2B agreement.

Following its investigation, the department determined Northwoods and its married owners – Alfredo and Patricia Aguilar – owed the affected workers $1,144,693 in back wages and assessed $210,696 in civil money penalties. They must also provide the division with contact information for the workers to help workers recover their back wages. 

The findings led the division to make a criminal referral to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison. On Jan. 13, 2023, a plea agreement was entered in the U.S. District Court in Madison in which Aguilar pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and agreed to make restitution for the back wages owed. Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson scheduled sentencing for April 19, 2023.

In addition, the couple have signed an enhanced compliance agreement which forbids Northwoods Forestry and A&C Forestry from participation in H-2B for five years. If they, as individuals, participate in any activities related to the H-2B worker program, they must submit to monitoring by a neutral third party.

“This case’s resolution shows the U.S. Department of Labor will pursue those who commit fraud involving foreign labor certification programs vigorously, and work hard to make sure the rights of those promised work in the U.S. to receive the wages and benefits are legally protected,” explained Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri in Chicago. “The H-2B labor certification program exists to help employers fill positions to operate their businesses, and requires them to abide by very detailed terms. Those who wrongly believe they can ignore the law are deeply mistaken and will be held accountable.”

The division found Northwoods Forestry previously violated provisions of the H-2B visa program for four contracts in 2009, 2011 and 2013 in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In total, the company paid $18,344 in back wages and $23,174 in civil money penalties.

“Employers in foreign labor certification programs must recruit workers for specific jobs and show that U.S. workers are not available to meet their needs. Employers of H-2B workers cannot act like temporary employment agencies, placing workers in various occupations outside of the terms of the H-2B contract,” Lazzeri added.

The Wage and Hour Division worked with the department’s Office of the Inspector General and State Department Diplomatic Security and the Wisconsin Department of Justice-Division Criminal Investigation on the case.

The H-2B nonimmigrant visa program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the U.S. The employment must be of a temporary nature for a limited period such as a one-time occurrence, seasonal need, peak load need or intermittent need. In 2023, about 130,000 visa are available for employers to participate in the program.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Employer:                                          Pho Saigon restaurant

Investigation sites:                            826 N. Ventura Road, Port Hueneme, CA 93041

Investigation findings:                      U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found restaurant owners Cindy Le and Oanh Le allowed their daughter Karen Walden – working as the restaurant manager – to fully participate in the tip pool while they only engaged in tip eligible duties 30 percent of the time, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Back Wages/Damages Recovered:  $24,877 in back wages for 20 employees

                                                             $24,877 in liquidated damages for 20 employees

Penalties:                                            $2,100 in civil money penalties for willful disregard of the FLSA.

Quote: “Food service industry employers must know that tips are the property of tipped employees who earn them,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kimchi Bui in Los Angeles. “Any attempt by restaurant employers to misuse a portion of workers’ tips violates tipped workers’ federal wage rights.”

Background:  Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for Android and iOS devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.