WEST COVINA, CA – A federal investigation has recovered $202,192 in back wages and liquidated damages for 13 workers at a Southern California car wash, whose employer shortchanged them, tried to conceal their wrongdoing, and committed other violations of federal law.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that MG Petroleum Inc., operator of Rancho Carwash – a gas station, mini market and car wash – in Rancho Cucamonga, attempted to hide its illegal actions giving workers two paychecks: one for the first 40 hours worked, and a second for overtime hours paid at straight-time rates, without legally required overtime premium.

The division also determined MG Petroleum required workers to take lunch breaks as customer demand dictated. While this practice left employees unable to take uninterrupted one-hour lunch breaks, the employer still deducted an average of 4 hours per week for lunch breaks. The employer’s led to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation led to the recovery of $101,096 in back wages and an equal amount of $101,096 in liquidated damages for the affected workers.

“Federal law requires that employers pay workers all their hard-earned wages, including overtime pay for hours employees work over 40 in a workweek,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Gayane Aleksanian in West Covina, California. “Rancho Carwash’s operator denied workers their overtime pay and then attempted to hide their illegal pay practices. The costly consequences for their violations and their attempt to evade the law are now clear.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $138 million in unpaid overtime wages for more than 145,000 workers.

“As employers continue to struggle to find the people they need to operate their businesses, those who respect workers’ rights to be paid their full wages and avoid violations are more likely to succeed in retaining and  recruiting employees,” Aleksanian added.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’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.

Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.

This press release is also available in Spanish.

Employer:    Bedford Nursing & Rehab Services LLC, operating as Bedford Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Site:               480 Donald St. Bedford, New Hampshire 03110

Findings:      Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the independent skilled nursing and rehabilitation living facility for the elderly failed to pay full overtime wages by failing to factor shift differentials and non-discretionary bonuses in its calculations, leading to significant Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

The division also determined the facility allowed three, 15-year-old employees to work more hours than permitted by federal child labor laws.

Back wages: The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $86,008 – $43,004 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for 74 workers. The department also levied a $2,202 civil money penalty for the child labor violations.

Quote:           “Healthcare workers provide essential services for people often in great need, and the Wage and Hour Division has made enforcement in this industry a priority,” said Wage and Hour District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Frequently, our investigations find industry employers are failing to pay workers their full overtime wages. Employers must ensure their pay practices comply with federal employment laws. Workers and employers alike can use our online resources and contact us with questions about workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities.”
 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has found a Kauai restaurant allowed eight minors, some as young as 15-years-old, to cook and bake in violation of federal laws that prohibit employers from assigning hazardous occupations to underage employees, and denied overtime wages to 18 employees.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation found Tahiti Nui Enterprises Inc. – operating as Tahiti Nui – also permitted the minors to work beyond the hours federal law permits. The Polynesian-style restaurant also failed to pay 18 employees required overtime rates for hours over 40 hours in a workweek. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation led to the division’s recovery of $11,181 in back wages and liquidated damages for the workers denied overtime. The division also assessed Tahiti Nui with $26,355 in civil money penalties for its child labor violations and reckless disregard of the FLSA’s overtime requirements.

“As employers expand their use of young workers in food service industry, the U.S. Department of Labor works tirelessly to make certain that they meet their legal obligation to ensure the safety of these workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “A job should never jeopardize the safety, well-being or educational opportunities of young workers.”

The FLSA prohibits 14- and 15-year-old employees from working later than 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day and past 7 p.m., the remainder of the year. Additionally, they cannot work more than 3 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non-school day or more than 18-hours per school week.

In 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that young workers aged 16-19 years old comprised nearly 12 per cent of the nation’s workforce. As businesses fill job openings with minors new to the workforce, employers must understand and comply with child labor rules. 

To assist employers and inform young workers and their parents, the division recently published “Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers.”

The division offers information for employers and for young workers, parents and educators about child labor to promote positive and safe work experiences for teens. Learn more about the division, including its search tool to learn if you are owed back wages collected by the division. For compliance assistance, call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.

Who: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division

What: The division will begin an outreach assistance and enforcement initiative to reach employers in North Carolina’s sweet potato industry. Historically, federal investigators have found a high percentage of violations among industry employers, and the initiative seeks to improve compliance.                                      

Quote: “We depend on U.S. farmworkers to help put food on tables here and abroad, yet these hard-working women and men too often fall prey to employers who fail to respect their rights as workers. All agricultural workers have the right to be paid their legally earned wages and be provided safe working, housing and transportation conditions,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Employers who fail to comply with federal laws that protect these workers will be held accountable. We encourage growers, farm labor contractors and agricultural associations to contact us for assistance.”

Background: In fiscal years 2019-2022, the division conducted more than 130 agricultural industry investigations in North Carolina and found violations in 84 percent of them. The findings led to the recovery of more than $1 million in back wages and damages for more than 2,200 workers, and assessments of $1.67 million in civil money penalties to employers to resolve violations.

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.

Participants:      U.S. Department of Labor

                                   Consulate of Mexico in New Orleans

Agreement description: The department’s Wage and Hour Division has renewed its agreement with the Consulate of Mexico to provide Spanish-speaking workers in Louisiana and Mississippi with information and guidance on their rights as workers, and access to training.

The three-year agreement includes joint initiatives to raise awareness among low-wage, at-risk workers of their rights and protections, and seeks to decrease wage violations by helping these workers understand their employers’ responsibilities to pay them their full wages as required by the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection and the Fair Labor Standards acts.

Background: The U.S. Department of Labor establishes agreements with government entities, employer organizations, trade associations, worker advocates and other stakeholders to enhance its efforts to provide training and education, and raise awareness of employer responsibilities and workers’ rights under federal law. The renewed agreement with the Consulate of Mexico in New Orleans will enable both parties to better coordinate opportunities to reach native Mexicans working in the two-state region and provide them with information on workplace rights and protections.

Quote: “The Wage and Hour Division values its relationship with the Consulate of Mexico,” said Wage and Hour District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “Renewing our agreement solidifies our ability to work with Mexican government officials to ensure we provide native Mexicans here with information about worker protections under U.S. law and connect them with the resources they may need to exercise their rights.”

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SACRAMENTO – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $216,674 in unpaid overtime wages and liquidated damages from a Sacramento-area pallet manufacturer after the employer denied required overtime pay to 31 employees.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Martinez Pallets Inc. – based in Rio Linda and with a second location in West Sacramento – paid some employees for their first 40 hours per week through payroll checks, but paid hours over 40 in a workweek at straight-time rates, in either separate checks or cash, intentionally denying them the legally required overtime premium pay. By law, employees must be paid time-and-one-half of the required rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The division determined the company’s owner, Miguel Arturo Cruz willfully attempted to evade overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators also found the employer allowed minor-aged employees to drive forklifts and operate power-driven woodworking machines illegally, both of which are considered hazardous occupations for minors.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to hold employers accountable for wage theft, particularly in this case where we found Martinez Pallets deliberately attempted to evade the law to avoid paying overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento, California. “Employers are legally responsible for ensuring they pay workers their full wages and may face costly consequences when our investigators find they fail to uphold that obligation.”

In addition to back wages and damages, Martinez Pallets paid $14,407 in penalties to resolve the child labor and willful overtime violations.

“Assigning minor-aged workers hazardous tasks endangers them and puts their lives and their futures at risk,” Avila added. “Federal child labor laws include protections for young workers and penalties for employers who disregard them.”

Investigators learned about the employer’s practices through the Employment Education and Outreach Alliance, also known as EMPLEO, which manages the multistate toll-free hotline 1-877-552-9832 to assist Spanish-speaking workers with workplace issues.

The Wage and Hour Division also protects workers against retaliation and has regulations that prohibit retaliation, harassment, intimidation or adverse actions against employees that assert their worker rights. 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. Workers and employers with questions can contact the division’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.

MANCHESTER, NH – A federal court has ordered a North Conway restaurant to pay a total of $148,128 – $74,064 in tips and back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employers kept workers’ tips illegally and failed to pay them overtime wages when required by law.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that, between February 2020 and February 2022, Luchador Tacos LLC and owners Joshua Mitchell and Katherine Mitchell violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when they did the following:

• Kept employees’ credit card tips.
• Paid at least one employee straight-time wages for overtime hours worked.
• Did not pay some employees one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.
• Calculated tipped employees’ overtime rates improperly, basing the rates on their cash wage as opposed to their regular rates of pay.

In addition to recovering wages and damages, the consent judgment and order obtained by the department’s Office of the Solicitor in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire enjoins and restrains the restaurant and its owners permanently from violating the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements.

The order also requires the employers to cooperate with any future investigations, prohibits them from discharging or discriminating against any employee engaged in FLSA-protected activity, such as filing a complaint with, providing information to, or cooperating with a Wage and Hour Division investigation. The restaurant and its owners must also provide current employees with basic FLSA information in English and Spanish and an overtime fact sheet in English and Spanish.

“Food services industry employers must understand that they may not keep tips earned by their employees. Illegally withholding hard-earned tips makes it harder for workers and their families to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Employers can avoid costly violations like those in this case by making sure their pay practices comply with federal law. We encourage employers to contact us to discuss questions they may have relative to the FLSA’s wage and tip-related requirements.”

The department published a final rule, “Tip Regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” parts of which became effective April 30, 2021. Under that rule, an employer cannot keep employees’ tips under any circumstances, and managers and supervisors may not keep tips received by employees, including through tip pools. This prohibition against employers keeping tips applies even if tipped workers are paid hourly at rates equal to or above the full federal minimum wage. 

View the consent judgment and order.

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $34.7 million in back wages for 29,209 food service industry workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects there were 1.2 million job openings in the accommodations and food service industry in August 2022, while 1,022,000 accommodations and food service industry workers separated from their jobs.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

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. Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of their immigration status. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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

DEDEDO, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $17,164 in back wages from a federal subcontractor who denied full wages and benefits to eight workers providing pest control services at U.S. Air Force and Navy installations on Guam.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Pacific Pest Control Inc. in Dededo violated the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act for failing to pay affected workers the correct wage rates set by federal law for their services. Instead, the employer paid lower hourly rates than those required for pest controllers and failed to fully provide their health benefits as required.

Investigators also found the employer violated the overtime pay requirements under the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act when they based overtime calculations on the lower, incorrect wage rates.

“Not paying workers their full wages makes it harder for them to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “Doing so also allows employers to improperly reduce labor costs and gain an unfair competitive advantage over businesses that comply with the law.”

“We strongly encourage all employers, including federal contractors and subcontractors, to review their pay practices and ensure they comply with the law,” Trotter added.

During the period of the investigation, Pacific Pest Control Inc. was working as a subcontractor for Defense Base Services Inc., an Anchorage, Alaska, company.

In 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $48 million in back wages due to over 21,000 employees working on federal contracts. For confidential compliance assistance about the Service Contract Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

The agency encourages workers who think they may be owed back wages to use the Workers Owed Wages search tool. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.

BOSTON – A federal court has ordered two Boston restaurants to pay $195,680 in back wages and liquidated damages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employers willfully failed to pay some employees the minimum wage and overtime compensation the law requires. The department also levied a $14,980 civil money penalty.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Simco’s Restaurant of Roslindale Inc. – operating as Simco’s Roslindale – and Simco’s Restaurant Inc. – operating as Simco’s Mattapan – and their owners, Denise and Evangelos Fotopoulos violated the Fair Labor Standards Act as follows:

• Failed to compensate some employees at the federally required minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
• Did not pay some employees the overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek.
• Failed to maintain complete and accurate records of employees’ work hours, complete and accurate records of payments made to employees, and contact information for employees.

“Too often, we find violations like these in the food service industry,” said Wage and Hour District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “Industry employers must understand that failing to pay minimum wage and overtime as federal law requires makes it harder for workers and their families to make ends meet and may have costly consequences for business owners.”

In addition to the recovery of $97,840 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the consent judgment and order obtained by the department’s Office of the Solicitor in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts enjoins and restrains the restaurant and its owners permanently from violating the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements.

The order also requires them to cooperate with any future investigations, prohibits them from discharging or discriminating against any employee because that employee engaged in FLSA-protected activity, such as filing a complaint with, providing information to, or cooperating with a Wage and Hour Division investigation.

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $34.7 million in back wages for 29,209 food service industry workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects there were 1.2 million job openings in the accommodations and food service industry in August 2022, while 1,022,000 accommodations and food service industry workers separated from their jobs.

View the consent judgment and order.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

For more information about workers’ rights and other employee rights enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions regardless of immigration status, and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.  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, now available for Android and iOS devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

JACKSON, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $44,280 in back wages and liquidated damages for two employees of a Jackson ground delivery contractor who failed to compensate them for work they did off-the-clock from their homes.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Douglas Inc. – operating as Douglas Express Delivery – allowed the employees to work off-the-clock without compensation, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. After working their regular shifts and clocking out, the employees would then continue to perform work-related tasks from home such as responding to customers’ phone calls, texts and emails, providing directions to drivers for deliveries and finding alternate drivers when vehicles broke down.

In addition to failing to pay the workers for the off-the-clock work, Douglas Express owed the workers time-and-one half the required rate of pay as the off-the-clock work exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. The division also cited the employer with a recordkeeping violation for not recording the hours employees spent working from home after they left their physical worksite. The division also assessed Douglas Express with an $882 civil penalty for repeat violations. In two previous investigations, Douglas Express paid $157,568 in back wages to 59 employees.

“The pandemic blurred the lines between home and office as safety dictated that some companies allow workers to complete job-related tasks from their homes, however, employers remain obligated to compensate workers for all their hours of work, including the time they spent working from home,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “As more people use e-commerce sites to shop and the demands on warehousing, logistics and delivery companies increase, employers must ensure they comply fully with worker protections of wages and benefits, regardless of where the work is performed.”

Amid historic shifts in the nation’s workforce, employers are finding it more difficult to retain and recruit the people they need to do the jobs they offer. Many of those difficulties are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment in transportation and warehousing, excluding the postal service, to grow about 327,300 new jobs in the next decade.

“Workers will naturally flock to businesses that show an ability to pay them their full wages as they are earned,” Hall added. “Employers who fail to meet their legal obligation to workers and make it harder for them to make ends meet may find themselves struggling to hire the people they need to operate.”

Established in 1958, Douglas Inc. is a ground delivery contractor that delivers office supplies, furniture, pharmaceuticals, auto parts, beverages, medical supplies and mail. The company has five branch locations in Tupelo, Batesville, Greenwood, Hattiesburg and Gulfport.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions regardless of where they are from and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For information about the FLSA and other laws the division enforces, contact the agency at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and its search tool if you think you are owed back wages the division has collected.

Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.

Read this news release En Español.