Employer name:                      Sandpiper Autobody                                               

Investigation site:                  470 W. State St.

                                                          Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Sandpiper Autobody in Pleasant Grove misclassified 13 technicians as independent contractors, and failed to pay the overtime wages as required by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer also failed to keep accurate employee pay and time records, another FLSA violation.

Back wages recovered:         $47,175 in back wages to 13 workers                                               

Quote: “Illegally paying an employee as an independent contractor strips them of the worker protections and benefits they are due. By doing so, the employer reduces a misclassified worker’s pay, and denies the worker’s health insurance, worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance. The employee is also burdened by the responsibility of paying employer tax,” explained the Wage and Hour Division’s District Director Kevin Hunt in Salt Lake City. “And in the long run, misclassification may reduce the Social Security benefit the employee receives in retirement.”

Employer name:                    Envirotech Mechanical Systems LLC                                                                                         

Investigation site:                 270 Lake Meadows Drive

                                                         Montgomery, TX  77316

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Envirotech Mechanical Systems LLC – a heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor in Montgomery – failed to pay air conditioning repair technicians the overtime premium at one and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in workweek as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires.

Back wages recovered:         $61,591 in back wages to 79 employees                                         

Quote: “By not paying the proper overtime, this employer denied employees their hard-earned wages,” explained the Wage and Hour Division’s District Director Robin Mallett in Houston. “The law requires employers to pay workers all of their rightful wages, including overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.  Employers who fail to pay workers legally gain an unfair competitive advantage over those employers who abide by the law.”

Background:  In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $36 million for more than 21,000 construction industry workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 242,000 industry workers quit their jobs in March 2022, matching the all-time high in November 2005. As job openings and employment levels continue to increase, employers whose pay practices violate federal law will likely find it more difficult to recruit and retain workers, than employers who pay their workers their rightful wages and benefits.

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Employer:                                        

A&G Auto Service and Repair Inc.

operating as Magic Wheels Auto World Inc.

15252 Spring Hill Drive, Brooksville, FL  34604

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found A&G Auto Service and Repair Inc. paid a salary for all hours employees worked and did not pay the required half-time for overtime hours worked. The employer also misapplied overtime exemptions for two supervisors who failed to meet the criteria for an exemption. Additionally, the division found the employer misclassified three individuals as independent contractors and paid them on a salary basis as well, failing to pay them for overtime hours worked, all Fair Labor Standards Act violations.  

Back wages and liquidated damages recovered:   $72,174 for 12 employees.

Quote: “As employers struggle to find the people they need to operate their businesses successfully, retaining and recruiting workers will be more difficult for employers who violate workers’ rights to be paid their full wages and benefits,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $4.3 million in back wages for more than 3,500 workers in the auto repair industry where we too often find employers in violation of the law. We encourage others to review their pay practices or risk losing the workers they need to keep their shops running.”

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. 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.

GUAYNABO, PR – A federal judge has ordered two San Juan restaurants and their owners to pay a total of $31,630 to 19 workers after the owners withheld back wages they assured the U.S. Department of Labor they would pay the employees after an investigation found their pay practices violated federal law.

The consent judgment – entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico – follows litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor and an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that began after investigators identified Fair Labor Standards Act violations by Patricio’s Restaurant Inc., doing business as Jose Jose Restaurant, and El Catador D’Abreu Inc., doing business as El Catador D’Abreu Restaurant, and owners Jose Abreu Ramirez and Milagros De Los Santos Gomez.

During the investigation, the division found the employers paid some of their cooks and waiters a set salary each week regardless of how many hours they worked and required some employees to buy and maintain their uniforms, which caused minimum wage and overtime violations. In addition, the employers failed to maintain records of their employees’ wages and work hours, as the law requires. At the close of the investigation, Abreu signed back wage compliance and payment agreements on behalf of both restaurants in which the corporations agreed to comply with the FLSA and pay back wages the division found due in its investigation.  

Despite such agreements, several employees later reported to the division that Abreu and De Los Santos directed them to endorse the back wage checks and sign documents representing they had received the back wages due to them when, in fact, they had never received any back wages. Instead, the employers kept the checks, in violation of the FLSA. As a result of this conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Puerto Rico filed criminal charges in the matter. Abreu plead guilty to eight counts of falsifying, concealing, or covering up a material fact by trick, scheme or device, and was ordered to pay $13,137 in restitution to six employees.

“Workers have the right to request payment of their hard-earned wages without fear of retaliation and discrimination for cooperating fully with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Jose R. Vazquez-Fernandez in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. “The Fair Labor Standards Act provides essential worker protections to ensure they are paid their rightful wages. Workers who believe their rights have been violated should contact the Wage and Hour Division with their concerns.”

In addition to back wages and liquidated damages, the consent judgment obtained by the department permanently enjoins the defendants from future FLSA minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and retaliation violations, including discharging or retaliating against any employee who exercises their rights under the FLSA. It also prohibits them from discouraging workers from cooperating with federal investigators and requires the defendants to provide employees with written notice of their FLSA rights.

Read the Consent Judgment.  

“Employers and workers alike should know that the U.S. Department of Labor will take appropriate legal action when employers shortchange employees of their wages, threaten or discriminate against employees, or otherwise disregard the Fair Labor Standards Act’s requirements,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.

The Wage and Hour Division’s Caribbean District Office conducted the original investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Allison L. Bowles from the New York Regional Solicitor’s Office litigated the case.

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.

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.

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LAS VEGAS – A recent federal investigation has found that a Reno landscaping company – that employs workers exposed to the outdoors, including on summer days when temperatures can peak at 90 degrees – intentionally shortchanged 57 of its workers by denying them overtime wages they were owed.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators determined that H&H Landscape LLC violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying the affected workers their regular hourly pay rates in cash for hours over 40 in a workweek, and did not record all hours worked in its pay records, also an FLSA violation.

The investigation led the division to recover $88,957 in overtime back wages for the affected employees, and to assess H&H Landscape $29,640 in civil money penalties for its willful recordkeeping violations.

“Landscaping work is hard, harder still when temperatures soar. H&H Landscape’s employees have the right to be paid all the wages they’ve earned and their employer has a legal obligation to pay them,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Sylvia Argueta in Las Vegas. “The U.S. Department of Labor found that H&H Landscaping shortchanged nearly 60 workers of wages they depend on to care for themselves and their families and willfully failed to record all of the hours worked in an attempt to avoid paying overtime.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $1.2 million for more than 1,000 people employed in the landscaping services industry, among the division’s low-wage, high violations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects demand for grounds maintenance workers to grow 8 percent by 2030 and about 173,200 job openings each year, on average.

“In addition to denying workers their full wages, employers who violate federal labor laws also gain an unfair competitive advantage over those who abide by the law,” Argueta added. “Employers are struggling these days to fill the positions they need to operate their businesses which gives law-abiding employers a better chance to retain and recruit the people they need.”

The Wage and Hour Division has a number of resources online for workers and employers, including an FLSA compliance toolkit. 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. Contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) with questions about worker rights and employer responsibilities. Calls can be addressed in over 200 languages, regardless of immigration status.

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SEATTLE – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation that uncovered a farm labor contractor’s already costly failures to protect migrant and seasonal agricultural workers took an unexpected turn when investigators found the same employer had denied 165 farm laborers more than $80,000 in overtime wages for hours spent cleaning the popular Gorge Amphitheater.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Espinoza Contractor LLC – owned by Guillermo Espinoza – violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act when they did not pay 49 workers their wages when due, failed to disclose working conditions to the migrant workers in writing and did not record transportation fees deducted from workers’ pay accurately. Espinoza also transported workers without authorization and failed to ensure drivers who transported workers had required documents. The employer also did not register as farm labor contractor or register the workers as required.

Part of the division’s nationwide enforcement and outreach initiative to protect agricultural workers’ rights, the investigation led the division to assess Espinoza $61,896 in civil penalties.

During its investigation, the division learned Espinoza Contractor LLC was under contract to provide farm laborers to clean the Gorge Amphitheater in George. Investigators determined that the employer failed to pay 165 workers, some who worked up to 90 hours each week, overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

The investigation into the unpaid wages led the division to recover $83,298 in back wages for the affected underpaid workers.

“Our investigation found that Espinoza Contractor LLC failed to meet its legal obligations to its workers to provide them safe transportation in an industry with a history of farmworkers being hurt or killed while being transported, and, failed to pay them their rightful wages as farmworkers and cleaning workers at the Gorge Amphitheater,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “This case is an egregious example of how scofflaws, such as Espinoza, take advantage of some of our economy’s most vulnerable workers, The U.S. Department of Labor will hold such violators accountable and is committed in protecting and defending workers’ rights.”

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $8.4 million for more than 10,000 agricultural industry workers, which the department ranks 5th on its list of 15 low-wage, high violation industries, based on back wages recovered.

Based in Othello, Espinoza Contractor LLC is a farm and general labor contractor that has provided hundreds of workers to 185 clients over the last three years.

The division enforces the law regardless of a worker’s immigration status and can speak confidentially with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact its 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.

Learn more about the MSPA here.

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SUCCASUNNA, NJ – A federal court has approved a consent judgment ordering a Succasunna landscaping company and its owner to pay $400,000 in back wages and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer denied 32 of its workers the overtime pay they earned.

The court’s action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined Fullerton Landscapes LLC – operating as Fullerton Landscape Architects – and owner Douglas B. Fullerton failed to pay 32 employees time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Following litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ordered the company and its owner to pay a total of $200,000 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers.

“Paying straight-time rates or rates below straight time for overtime hours worked shortchanges workers of the hard-earned wages they need to make ends meet, and violates the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Wage and Hour District Director Paula Ruffin in Mountainside, New Jersey. “Unfortunately, these types of violations are common in the landscaping services industry. We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division about their responsibilities and workers to contact the agency with questions about their rights.”

The division’s Northern New Jersey District Office conducted the investigation. Rolando Valdez, a senior trial attorney in the department’s New York Regional Office of the Solicitor litigated the case.

View the complaint and consent judgment.

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered $1.2 million for more than 1,000 workers in the landscaping services industry. With more than 11 million job openings in the U.S. reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2022 coupled with 4.4 million workers quitting their jobs, employers are find it difficult to fill positions they need to be successful. Employers who pay workers the wages they are due  will have a competitive advantage over those who don’t.

“The U.S. Department of Labor vigorously pursued legal action to ensure that all employees are properly compensated as required by the law. The department will continue to pursue litigation where employers fail to comply with the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York.

Based in Succasunna, Fullerton Landscapes LLC provides residential, commercial and public design and construction landscaping services.

For information about laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s 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.

The Wage and Hour Division has a number of resources online for workers and employers, including an FLSA compliance toolkit. 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.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced new guidance published today by the department’s Wage and Hour Division on important limitations on the payment of subminimum wages under Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act, which applies to certified employers otherwise authorized to pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities under specific requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Section 511 requires employers with a certificate under Section 14(c) of the FLSA to ensure that workers have received critical resources and information prior to and throughout the duration of employment at a subminimum wage. The timely provision of these resources and information helps maximize opportunities for workers to obtain competitive integrated employment. When employers fail to comply with the requirements of Section 511, they are required to pay workers the full federal minimum wage.   

The new guidance, Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2022-4 “Enforcement of the Rehabilitation Act Section 511 Requirements for Workers with Disabilities in the Section 14(c) Program,” supplements Field Assistance Bulletin Nos. 2016-2 and 2019-1, Fact Sheet 39H and other materials designed to provide guidance on the provisions of Section 511 and the protections it offers workers in the Section 14(c) program. The new FAB reaffirms and provides assistance to stakeholders in determining compliance with the timing and documentation requirements of Section 511.

“Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, created significant requirements for employers paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities,” said Wage and Hour Division Deputy Administrator Patricia Davidson. “These requirements help ensure that workers have critical resources and information designed to improve access to competitive integrated employment. The Wage and Hour Division evaluates an employer’s compliance with the Section 511 requirements in every investigation it conducts of an employer that holds a subminimum wage certificate under the FLSA. This work protects the rights of workers with disabilities and ensures they receive the full federal minimum wage when it is owed.”

The Wage and Hour Division has been evaluating and determining employer compliance with the requirements of Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act since 2016. As evidence of the agency’s continued commitment to vigorous enforcement of the law, yesterday, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Billings Division, alleging the owner and operator of Special K Ranch – a Columbus, Montana, residential and working ranch facility for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities – violated the requirements of Section 511.

The litigation follows a Wage and Hour Division investigation that found the employer falsely stated that required counseling and referrals had been provided to workers paid subminimum wages, and that it informed these workers of available training opportunities, when it had not. The employer’s failures required Special K to pay the full minimum wage to legally continue to employ the workers until the workers received the required information and services.

Investigators determined the facility paid 35 employees below federal minimum wage during and after the investigation period. Special K paid the workers as little as $1.17 per hour in violation of the law.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will not tolerate wage theft or an employer’s failure to provide the important services and information required under Section 511 to workers with disabilities,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Special K Ranch’s alleged violations demonstrate a disregard for the law and disrespect for the dignity of workers. Let there be no misunderstanding, the department will take decisive action to protect the rights of workers employed under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

Employers, workers or other stakeholders with questions about Section 511 of the Rehabilitation Act, the FLSA Section 14(c) program, or other the laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division are encouraged contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Calls are answered confidentially, in more than 200 languages, regardless of immigration status.

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.

Employer:                    Riverstone Logistics LLC

Investigation site:       13860 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Charlotte, NC 28277

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Riverstone Logistics LLC misapplied exemptions and paid employees a flat salary without an additional overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. In addition, the employer allowed a 16-year-old employee to work more than 3 hours per day when school was in session, and more than 8 hours per day when it not in session, both FLSA child labor violations.

Back Wages Recovered:                   $34,665 in back wages for 47 workers

Civil Money Penalties Assessed:     $734 to address the child labor violation                                      

Quote: “Employers must pay their employees for all the hours they worked. Paying a salary doesn’t exclude employers from their legal obligation to pay overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “This investigation also found an infraction of federal child labor laws which ensure real work experience does not come at the expense of the minor-aged workers’ education and well-being.”

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.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including  information about protections for young workers on the department’s YouthRules! website. 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.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – A North Carolina pizza chain’s pay practices denied full wages to 63 workers at three locations in Clemmons, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The employer paid as little as $1.19 per hour as a cash wage to workers, which forced them to rely almost entirely on tips for their income, a federal investigation has found.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Cugino Forno Clemmons LLC,  Cugino Forno LLC in Greensboro and Cugino Forno WS LLC in Winston-Salem – all operating as EL Cugino Forno Pizzeria – also collected customer tips left for some workers and used them to pay other employees’ wages, leading to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage provisions. They also found the employer failed to pay the required overtime rate when applicable.

The division’s investigation led the recovery of $276,048 in back wages for the affected workers.

“Restaurant employees work hard, often for low-wages, and many depend on the tips they receive from customers for good service to makes ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Employers are obligated to pay their workers all their legally earned wages. Those who do not respect their workers’ rights will likely struggle to retain and recruit the people they need to remain competitive, as workers look for opportunities with employers that do.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $34.7 million for more than 29,000 workers in the food service industry. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports near record numbers of job openings and workers in the accommodations and food services industry quitting their jobs. 

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.

Read this news release En Español.