ATLANTA - An ongoing federal initiative to ensure that Southeast employers comply with federal laws regarding the employment of temporary nonimmigrant workers with H-2B guest visas has made significant progress in holding violators accountable for infringing on workers’ rights.

From October 2019 through March 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in the Southeast has recovered more than $1 million in back wages denied to nearly 1,000 workers. The division also assessed more than $650,000 in civil money penalties and debarred four employers and labor contractors for their violations of the H-2B visa program.

The H-2B visa program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign workers to the United States to perform non-agricultural labor or services of a temporary nature— a one-time occurrence on a seasonal, a peak load or intermittent basis.

During this period, investigators conducted 73 H-2B investigations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.  

“The H-2B visa program includes specific requirements employers must follow to participate. Our ongoing initiative will ensure the rights of all workers – both U.S. and visa workers – in the Southeast are protected, and make employers answer for their violations of the law,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta.

Among the H-2B violations found, investigators determined employers commonly:

• Failed to hire or rehire qualified U.S. workers.
• Offered more favorable working conditions and/or imposed restrictions or obligations to the H-2B workers that were not equally applied or offered to U.S. workers.
• Failed to pay offered wage during entire period of intended employment due to impermissible deductions or including all hours worked.
• Failed to pay for H-2B workers’ inbound and outbound travel expenses and subsistence.

The investigations also led the division to add four Southeast employers to the department’s list of employers debarred from participation in the H-2A or H-2B employment programs. The additions are Global Cleaning & Multi-Servicer LLC in Tallahassee, Florida; International Labor Management Corp. in Vass, North Carolina; and two Kentucky employers, Innovative Landscaping Inc. in Russell, and Paletco Inc. – operating as Journey Enterprises – in Louisville.

For more information about the labor provisions of the H-2B program and other laws that the division enforces, contact the 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.

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

SALT LAKE CITY – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $602,745, in overtime back wages for 127 employees of a Woods Cross tile installation company that denied them their full wages and benefits.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found C&E Stone Masonry LLC paid its workers straight time for all hours worked. The employer claimed it incorrectly thought that if it paid its employees by piece work, they did not have to pay overtime. By doing so, C&E Stone paid straight time for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek when the overtime premium was required. The division also cited the employer for failing to maintain records of hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek, including for piece-work employees, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Ignorance of the law is not a defense, especially when vulnerable workers are denied the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kevin Hunt in Salt Lake City. “Employers must be informed about labor laws, and must ensure that workers and their families who depend on their earnings and benefits are not harmed. Employers may contact the Wage and Hour Division with any questions about their obligations or worker’s rights.”

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, and determines if employers have misclassified employees as independent contractors and denied them critical benefits and worker protections.

In fiscal year 2021, the division identified more than $36 million in back wages owed to about 21,000 construction industry workers. In its investigations, the division commonly finds violations related to employers failing to pay overtime when required, misclassifying workers as independent contractors and not paying them for time spent on work-related travel, or pre- and post-shift work.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects construction industry employment to grow at a rate of 6 percent by 2030, with a gain of approximately 400,000 jobs. Employers who ensure their workers are paid their rightful wages and benefits will be best positioned to retain and recruit skilled workers.

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. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers 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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Employer:                              Always Reliable Management Services Inc.

Investigation site:                  1815 W. 15th St.

                                                 Panama City, FL 32401

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Always Reliable Management Services Inc. – a temporary staffing agency that provides housekeeping, front desk and maintenance workers to Panama City-area hotels – misclassified some employees as independent contractors. As a result, the employer paid the workers straight-time rates for all hours worked, failing to pay the additional half-time rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Back Wages Recovered and Liquidated Damages: $80,268 in back wages and liquidated damages for 108 workers.                                            

Quote: “Misclassification of employees as independent contractors unlawfully limits employees’ earning potential, denies them payment of benefits and payroll withholding for taxes, and makes it harder for them to provide for themselves and their families. Employers must ensure they pay their workers their rightfully earned wages under the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “In an industry suffering from a nearly 7 percent monthly quit rate, employers who pay workers less that they have earned can quickly find themselves struggling to maintain the workforce needed to stay in business.”

Background: 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. 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.

As of June 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the leisure and hospitality industry had an 8.5 percent job opening rate with more than 1,451,000 job openings nationwide and a 6.8 percent quit rate.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

PITTSBURGH – A federal court has ordered a Pennsylvania mother and daughter to pay more than $2.4 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages, after a three-day trial confirmed the pair used illegal pay practices to avoid paying full wages to 345 workers who provided daily living assistance and home healthcare in the Pittsburgh area.

On Aug. 5, 2022, Judge Christy Criswell Weigand of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania found Anna Zaydenberg, owner of Elder Resource Management Inc., operating as ComForCare Home Care, and her daughter Marsha Simonds, owner of Staff Source, liable for $1,242,146 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Both companies are also liable for the full amount. 

The ruling follows an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The investigation found that Zaydenberg and Simonds set up Staff Source and then violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when they redirected workers’ overtime hours to the staffing company’s pay records to avoid paying overtime.

The division determined that while ComForCare hired the workers and they worked only for the company’s clients, the workers received two separate checks from ComForCare and Staff Source. Investigators discovered that ComForCare staff handled payroll for both companies and manipulated the payrolls repeatedly so that each check showed less than 40 hours a week and often the company paid no overtime, even when employees worked 50, 60 or more hours some weeks.

Following the probe, the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor filed a federal lawsuit against Zaydenberg, Simonds and their companies. The court ruled the workers were jointly employed and both companies owed them overtime.  

In addition to back wages and damages, the division assessed $434,268 in civil money penalties given the willful nature of the employers’ FLSA violations. 

“While ComForCare workers delivered essential round-the-clock, daily living assistance to people in need, the companies went to great lengths to deny these workers their hard-earned overtime wages,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “The U.S. Department of Labor works diligently to prevent employers like these from harming workers and their families. Their actions were illegal and unconscionable.” 

“The U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania’s finding sends an important message to employers in the home healthcare industry,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Employers must pay workers overtime when the law requires and they cannot evade the law by trying to hide their violations. The Solicitor’s Office will continue to focus on this industry and show those who defy the law that there are costly consequences to such actions.”  

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $13.8 million for more than 17,000 healthcare industry workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there were more 1.9 million job openings in the healthcare and social assistance industry, and that more than 728,000 industry workers quit their jobs in June 2022 – all of which is forcing employers to compete hard to retain and recruit the people they need to operate. 

Elder Resource Management Inc. is an independently owned franchise of ComForCare Home Care, a nationwide network of more than 200 in-home healthcare companies. Elder Resource Management provides personal care, companionship, respite care, cleaning and meal preparation to residents in Allegheny County.   

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. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers in more than 200 languages. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for android devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $28,455 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages from a Big Island nursery and landscaping company after they failed to pay overtime wages to 37 employees.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Aikane Nursery & Landscaping – owned by brothers Brandon and Bradley Belmarez –  paid its employees straight time for overtime hours worked in some weeks. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employees be paid time-and-one-half of their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Division investigators also found Aikane Nursery & Landscaping failed to keep and maintain accurate payroll and time records of its employees’ hours of work and violated the child labor requirements of FLSA by allowing minors under the age of 16 years-old to work more hours per week than federal law allows.

In addition to paying a total of $56,910, in back wages and damages, the employer paid a civil monetary penalty of $10,000 for a child labor violation and reckless disregard of the act’s overtime requirements.

“The onus is on the employer to understand federal labor laws, to record all hours of work accurately, and to ensure employees receive all of the wages they have earned according to the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terrence Trotter. “Anyone who employs minors must comply with child labor laws and ensure the safety and well-being of young workers.”

Learn more about the division, including its search tool to learn if you are owed back wages collected by the division. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can 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.

PITTSBURGH –  The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $65,640 in back wages and liquidated damages for three workers at two Pittsburgh-area gas station and convenience stores after its investigation found the employer had a history of shortchanging workers and violating federal overtime laws.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. – a Monaca-based operator of Sunoco gas stations and owner Durlabhju Ukani – did not pay employees the overtime they were legally due when they worked between 57 and 112 hours in a week. Om Shiva failed to pay one-and-one-half times employees’ required rates of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain records of employees’ work hours. The investigations covered locations in Freedom and Cranberry Township.

The latest action follows a Nov. 5, 2021, consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania that required Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and its owners to pay $281,029 in back wages and liquidated damages to two workers at a gas station and convenience store in Monaca. The judgment also orders them to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future.

During this prior investigation in 2021 and others in 2011, 2016 and 2020 at other locations they operate, Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and Ukani were informed of the FLSA’s requirements, including the responsibility to pay overtime and maintain records of employees’ work hours.

“Despite these investigations and their knowledge of their responsibilities under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and Durlabhju Ukani recklessly disregarded federal overtime and recordkeeping requirements,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh. “These types of violations are common in the retail industry and can be prevented by complying with the law or contacting the Wage and Hour Division with questions to avoid costly consequences. There should be no doubt that we will use every tool at our disposal when employers chose to ignore federal labor laws.”

“When an employer like Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and owner Durlabhju Ukani engage in wage theft, they deprive vulnerable workers of the wages they need to make ends meet. The U.S. Department of Labor has – and will continue – to actively pursue appropriate and active legal remedies to compel serial violators to adhere to the Fair Labor Standards Act and their obligation to pay their employees properly,” said Regional Solicitor Oscar L. Hampton III in Philadelphia.

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, the consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania requires the defendants to pay $843 in civil money penalties to the Labor Department. It also prohibits them from future overtime and recordkeeping violations and soliciting or accepting payment of the wages and damages from the affected employees.

View the complaint and consent judgment.

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

INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $92,326 in back wages and liquidated damages for 18 workers whose employer paid them a fixed weekly rate to stock shelves, serve customers at meat counters and operate cash registers at three LaCanasta Grocery stores in Indianapolis.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that, by paying the flat salary, the employer failed to ensure they paid workers the required federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25. Additionally, the employer failed to pay overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation determined LaCanasta owed $46,163 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. In addition to paying the back wages and damages, LaCanasta will now require all employees to record their hours worked by clocking in and out on a tablet and will compensate them at time and one half their hourly rate for overtime hours worked.

“The wages recovered for these 18 workers makes a significant difference in their ability to support themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “Historically, small grocers employ young, low-wage and vulnerable workers who may not understand their rights to basic wage protections like overtime and minimum wage. Our efforts serve to educate workers, employers and the public on compliance with wage laws.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division’s Midwest initiative in the grocery industry recovered $172,124, in back wages for more than 200 workers, an average of about $823 per employee. Most commonly, the division found violations of overtime, minimum wage, and child labor standards.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that, in June 2022, 769,000 retail services workers left their jobs, and projected that 842,000 job openings existed. Learn more 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.

PERRY, OH – An Ohio nursery owner’s history of violations, coupled with allegations that they intimidated and threatened workers, and denied them their full wages, has led the U.S. Department of Labor to assess $76,278, in penalties and to debar the Perry employer from participating in the federal agricultural visa program for three years.

Known as H-2A, the program allows employers to recruit and transport agricultural workers from outside the U.S. on a temporary basis, often for seasonal work or when sufficient numbers of U.S. workers are not available.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Secor Nursery in Perry – owned by Lawrence J. Secor – violated the H-2A program as follows:

• Discriminated against, intimidated and threatened workers. 
• Made illegal deductions from wages.
• Required employees to repay costs associated with inbound and outbound transportation.
• Shifted the cost of H-2A participation to the workers.
• Failed to record the terms and conditions of the job offered accurately.

“Unscrupulous actions like intimating workers and denying them wages will not be tolerated from Secor Nursery or any other employer. The hard work performed by people employed in the agricultural industry is essential to our nation’s food supply and yet, too often these temporary guest workers are exploited by employers that fail to live up to the terms of their own contracts,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Matthew Utley in Columbus, Ohio.

“The H-2A visa program is designed to help industry employers meet their labor needs while treating guest and U.S. workers fairly. Employers who fail to fulfill their obligations as H-2A participants and who ignore the program’s worker protections violate the law and gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” Utley added.

Investigators also determined Secor Nursery violated overtime regulations during certain workweeks when employees handled crops grown from other farms. Although agricultural workers are not required to receive overtime, they must be paid additional half-time for hours worked over 40 in a workweek when they handle crops grown on other farms.

The division assessed Secor with the civil money penalties for the H-2A violations and debarred the employer from H-2A participation until May 2025. Investigations previously found program violations by the nursery in 2009, 2011 and 2018. The most recent investigation also recovered $62,330 in back wages for 19 workers.

Secor Nursery is a family owned and operated nursery and farm market, growing fruits, vegetables and nursery stock from March through October.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour 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.

GUAYNABO, PR – Mientras 62 empleados en dos centros de cuidados paliativos de Puerto Rico brindaban servicios esenciales para que los pacientes terminales y sus familias se sintieran cómodos, el Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos realizó una investigación y descubrió que las prácticas salariales de sus empleadores perjudicaban la capacidad de los empleados de cuidar de sí mismos y de sus familias.

Los investigadores de la División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento, descubrieron que Hospicio en el Hogar Fe, en Manatí, y Esperanza de P.R., en Mayagüez, (ambos del mismo dueño y que funcionan con el nombre Hospicio la Fe) clasificaban de forma incorrecta a los empleados como personal voluntario y les pagaban un estipendio de $3.75 o $5.00 por hora en concepto de gastos, como el combustible. Así, al pagar menos del salario mínimo federal ($7.25 por hora), el empleador incurrió en violaciones del salario mínimo.

La división también determinó que los centros de cuidados paliativos no pagaban a sus empleados las horas extras correspondientes, en caso de que trabajaran más de 40 horas en una semana de trabajo. Además, Hospicio la Fe no elaboró ni mantuvo registros precisos y completos de los salarios y horas de sus empleados. Estas acciones violaron la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo.

La investigación recuperó $54,673 en salarios atrasados para los 62 empleados.

"Con la pandemia, se demostró que los servicios que presta el personal de salud son esenciales para nuestras familias, nuestras comunidades y la economía. Los trabajadores se ponen en riego a sí mismos cuando prestan estos servicios", explicó el director distrital de la División de Horas y Salarios, José R. Vazquez-Fernandez, en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. "Con una población estadounidense que envejece con rapidez y una demanda de personal de salud que crece al mismo ritmo, los empleadores que maltratan a los trabajadores o les niegan los derechos y beneficios que la ley les otorga no tendrán suficientes trabajadores para satisfacer la demanda".

En el año fiscal 2021, la división recuperó casi $14 millones para más de 17,000 trabajadores del sector sanitario en más de 1,100 investigaciones. La Oficina de Estadísticas de Trabajo prevé que en junio de 2022 había más de 1.9 millones de ofertas de empleo para trabajadores de la salud y asistencia social, ya que cerca de 728,000 trabajadores de este ámbito dejaron sus puestos, todo lo cual muestra un mercado laboral muy competitivo en estas áreas.

"Es posible que, en comparación con los que cumplen con ley, los empleadores que no respeten los derechos de los trabajadores tengan dificultades para retener y contratar a las personas que necesitan para su correcto funcionamiento", agregó Vazquez-Fernandez.

Hospicio la Fe brinda cuidados especiales a personas con enfermedades terminales en sus propios hogares y está certificado y pagado por Medicare para ofrecer servicios de cuidados paliativos.

Para recibir información sobre las leyes aplicadas por la División, comuníquese con la línea de ayuda gratuita de la agencia al 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Los trabajadores pueden llamar a la División de Horas y Salarios de forma anónima para hacer preguntas. El Departamento puede hablar con las personas que llaman en más de 200 idiomas.

Obtenga más información sobre la División de Horas y Salarios, incluida una herramienta de búsqueda que puede utilizar si cree que la División le debe salarios atrasados. Descargue la nueva Aplicación Timesheet de la agencia para dispositivos Android a fin de garantizar que las horas trabajadas y la remuneración sean exactas.

Read the release in English.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor is offering online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Presented by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, the seminars are part of the division’s ongoing effort to increase awareness and improve compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements.

The seminars will include video training on many Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act topics that participants can view on demand. In addition to recorded videos, the division will offers live, online question and answer sessions on DBA and SCA compliance from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. EDT.

The live Davis-Bacon Act compliance session is scheduled for Sept. 13 and the live session on Service Contract Act compliance is scheduled for Sept. 14.

“With the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in the nation’s infrastructure, the Wage and Hour Division wants to ensure that employers understand the importance of compliance with the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract acts and other laws we enforce,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Our efforts are intended to help create good jobs and support responsible employers by providing useful opportunities for contractors, workers and contracting agencies to understand the laws that govern wages and benefits on federal contracts better.” 

While seminar attendance is free, registration is required. Register to attend the Prevailing Wage seminar.

Additional information – including links to video trainings and dates for upcoming Q&A sessions, will be provided to registrants soon.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.