CONCORD, NH  – The U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire has entered a consent preliminary injunction to prevent a West Lebanon home healthcare business and its president from coercing employees to “kick back” wages recovered for them by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The court also ordered them to stop interfering with a current investigation.

This action is the latest involving Your Comfort Zone Inc. and Rosalind Godfrey. After two federal investigations in 2018 found they failed to pay 25 workers overtime wages when required, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the company and its president agreed to pay $100,055 in back wages to the affected workers. On Oct. 14, 2022, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint in federal court, alleging the employer later coerced some employees into returning the back wages the investigations recovered.

The department also alleges that the company and Godfrey interfered with a current investigation of their pay practices by asking employees about their contact with investigators, telling at least one employee they did not need to speak with investigators, altering at least one timesheet and submitting that false information to investigators.

“Employers who demand that their employees return wages recovered for them by the U.S. Department of Labor or who try to obstruct and interfere with an investigation are violating federal law,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Maia S. Fisher in Boston. “When employers demand such ‘kickbacks,’ discourage employees from asserting their legal protections or falsify records, the department will take swift legal action to defend workers’ rights and hold employers accountable.”

The preliminary injunction the department obtained prohibits Your Comfort Zone Inc. and Rosalind Godfrey from retaliation or interference with the investigation so that it may proceed. Specifically, the court order forbids the company and Godfrey from having current or former employees kick back any compensation they are owed, and orders them not to threaten to take, or take, action that harms current or former employees who took part or will take part in legally protected activity. The retaliation prohibition includes termination, verbal or written threats, physical harm or verbal abuse, threats of deportation or reports to immigration authorities and other actions that would hinder an investigation, such as instructing employees not to speak to investigators.

“Federal law empowers the Wage and Hour Division to obtain accurate information from employers to determine if their pay practices comply with federal law. Employees must be able to participate freely in an investigation without fear of retaliation by their employer,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Employers are legally responsible for complying with federal laws that protect workers’ rights, and we are committed to enforcing these laws and taking action when violations are found.”

View the complaint and the consent preliminary injunction and order.

The division’s Northern New England District Office in Manchester is conducting the investigation. The regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston is litigating the case.

Learn more about how the Wage and Hour Division protects workers against retaliation.

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

NAMPA, ID – A federal investigation has recovered $88,185 in back wages and liquidated damages for 90 caregivers employed by an Idaho home care agency whose pay practices denied the workers their legally earned wages, including overtime.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Allegiant SL LLC, a service provider for people with developmental disabilities, paid some caregivers straight-time rates for hours over 40 in a workweek, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer – operating as Allegiant Supported Living in Nampa – also failed to include non-discretionary bonuses in calculating overtime for some workers. Additionally, the employer did not maintain records of all hours worked, including overtime hours, resulting in additional recordkeeping violations.

“Too often, unscrupulous employers in the healthcare industry violate federal wage and hour laws knowingly and deprive their employees of their hard-earned wages,” said District Director Carrie Aguilar in Portland, Oregon. “The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to protect the rights of essential workers like these by recovering wages owed to them and by holding employers accountable for wage theft.”

In addition to recovering $44,092 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in damages, the division assessed $11,984 in penalties because of the willful nature of Allegiant’s violations.

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered $13.8 million in back wages for more than 17,000 workers in the healthcare industry, known for low wages and high rates of violations.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that more than 1.7 million job openings existed in the healthcare industry in August 2022, and that 486,000 industry workers quit their jobs.

“As healthcare industry employers struggle to recruit the people they need to fill their open positions, those who fail to pay employees their full wages will likely find it more difficult to retain and attract workers than employers who respect workers’ rights and protections,” Aguilar added.  

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 where they are from. 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.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $51,217 in restored tips and back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages from the operator of three Cumberland County, Maine, restaurants that denied 25 workers their full overtime wages or kept portions of their earned tips illegally.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that El Grand Rodeo, operating as El Rodeo in South Portland, El Rodeo Brunswick LLC in Brunswick and Azul Tequila LLC in Gorham failed to combine the hours of employees working at more than one location when calculating overtime for hours over 40 in each workweek. They also found Azul Tequila diverted tip pool monies to a part owner and a manager improperly and failed to pay overtime to one non-exempt salaried employee. The employers’ actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The overtime and tip-related violations found in these investigations are all-too-common in the food service industry,” said Wage and Hour District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Workers who rely on tips depend on them to supplement their hourly wages to make ends meet. Employers who deprive workers money they earn may face costly consequences when they violate the law.”

Federal law prohibits employers, managers and supervisors from keeping employees’ tips, including tips in tip pools. The law applies even if tipped workers are paid hourly at rates equal to or above the full minimum wage. 

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.

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.

For more information about the FLSA, restaurant employment and restaurant workers, or 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 and 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.

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.