NEW YORK – An administrative law judge has ordered a Pennsylvania-based federal contractor to pay $85,284 in back wages for failing to pay prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime pay owed to workers employed on multiple federal construction projects, after an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

A decision by the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges found that JRW Service Group LLC and its owner, Jason Winters, violated the Davis-Bacon Act by classifying and paying six workers as laborers improperly when they did the work of carpenters, pipefitters and other trades at three worksites for the U.S. General Services Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. Specifically, the work was performed at federal court buildings in Brooklyn and Central Islip and the U.S. Coast Guard training center in Cape May, New Jersey. The judge also found the company failed to pay workers fringe benefits, as required in federal contracts.

In addition, the judge found the employer did not pay employees the required overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek at all three worksites in violation of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. The case was referred to the department’s Office of the Solicitor when JRW Service Group refused to pay the workers’ back wages. 

“Employers who fail to pay required prevailing wages and fringe benefits because they classify employees improperly cause financial harm to workers on government-funded projects,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jorge Alvarez in New York. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that these employees are made whole using all available enforcement tools.”

The order also debarred the company and its owner from working on future federal and federally funded construction projects for three years.

“This decision and debarment should make clear that the U.S. Department of Labor will pursue all necessary legal actions to ensure that employers are held accountable when they violate federal prevailing wage laws,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York. 

The division’s New York City District Office conducted the investigation. Trial attorneys Susannah Kroeber, Susan Jacobs and Stacy Goldberg of the regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, 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 can call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) confidentially with questions, regardless of immigration status. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

Date of action:     September 20, 2024 

Type of action:     Complaint

Defendants:     White Noise Coffee I Corp., White Noise Coffee 2 Corp., Milk Under Café Inc., Su Hyung Kim a/k/a Vanesa Kim, and Han Flanagan. 

Allegations:      Following a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, the department filed suit against a chain of New York City coffee shops operating in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and previously operating in Queens, as White Noise Coffee Co. and the individuals operating the chain. The complaint alleges the employers failed to pay overtime to employees, most notably by not combining hours worked across all locations when employees worked at multiple locations. Instead, workers were paid the same hourly rate even when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employers also allegedly violated federal recordkeeping requirements by failing to keep and maintain accurate records.

The department’s suit, filed by its Office of the Solicitor, seeks back wages, liquidated damages, and injunctive relief to prevent ongoing and future violations.                                                                

Quotes:     “This suit makes clear all employers will be held accountable when they fail to pay employees their legally earned wages. The department will use every tool available to prevent employers from violating workers’ rights, including litigation,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.

“Employers are legally responsible to pay employees for all hours worked and to maintain required records,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jorge Alvarez in New York. “Employers that know and understand the law can easily prevent violations. We encourage employers who may have questions to contact the Wage and Hour Division.”

Court:     U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn, NY.

Docket Number:       24-cv-6645

Background:     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 immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

ATLANTA – As states across the Southeast address Hurricane Helene’s impacts, the U.S. Department of Labor reminds employers in disaster recovery and their workers that even when disaster strikes, worker protections apply.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division has resources available to help workers and employers understand their rights and responsibilities, including its natural disaster compliance assistance toolkit. The toolkit highlights how to avoid Fair Labor Standards Act violations, focusing on commonly found compliance failures when the department investigates employers engaged in disaster recovery, clean-up and rebuilding efforts.

Concerns highlighted in the toolkit include minimum and overtime wages, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, recordkeeping requirements, prevailing wages and the employment of children in violation of federal child labor laws. The complete toolkit, including many fact sheets available in English and Spanish, is available for download.

In the wake of natural disasters, employers must ensure they protect and maintain accurate records and pay workers when wages are due. Workers are particularly vulnerable during times of crisis, and employers that failed to comply with federal labor laws cause them and their families additional harm.

“Like the communities stricken by hurricanes and other disasters, workers are especially vulnerable after the fact. The U.S. Department of Labor responds quickly to protect workers and ensure they are paid all of their legally earned wages and benefits,” explained Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Juan Coria in Atlanta. “At the same time, we stand ready to provide employers with the information and guidance they need to stay in compliance.”

The division is committed to strong enforcement of workplace protections for disaster recovery workers nationwide, including the states affected by Hurricane Helene. 

Workers and employers with questions or concerns can call the agency’s toll-free helpline confidentially at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 

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

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – Workers on American Samoa employed in industries covered by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 will receive a 40-cent increase in their hourly wage beginning Sept. 30.

The Fair Labor Standards Act applies generally to employment in American Samoa as it does to employment in the U.S. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, as amended by Public Law 114-61, sets industry-specific minimum wage rates for American Samoa and provides that additional increases in those minimum wage rates of $0.40 per hour will occur every three years on Sept. 30, until all minimum wage rates equal the federal minimum wage. The last increase was Sept. 30, 2021.

American Samoa's minimum wage rates are set for particular industries, not for an employee's particular occupation. The rates are minimum rates, but an employer may choose to pay an employee at a rate higher than the industry-specific rate. The law also requires employers to display a poster showing the new minimum wage rates where employees can readily see it.

Effective Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, the federal minimum wages in American Samoa by industry are as follows:

The law also covers the minimum wage for government employees which, under the schedule of incremental 40-cent increases, will be $6.01 per hour as of Sept. 30. However, the government of American Samoa previously established an hourly minimum wage of $7.25 for its employees.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline confidentially at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The department protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers in more than 200 languages.

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Media Contacts:

Michael Petersen, 415-625-2630, petersen.michael.w@dol.gov 

Jose Carnevali, 415-625-2631, carnevali.jose@dol.gov 

Release Number:  24-2071-SAN

Employer:                                          

Hopewell Operator LLC, operating as Wonder City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center

Employer Address:                           

905 Cousins Ave., Hopewell, VA 23860

Investigation findings:                      

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined the employer violated federal law when it failed to pay the health and welfare benefits of two employees, provide paid sick leave to 11 employees and maintain accurate records,  in violation of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act and Executive Order 13706, “Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors.”

Fringe benefits recovered:               

$22,923 in health and welfare benefits for two employees.

Paid sick leave recovered:                

$1,860 in paid sick leave for eight employees and 24.67 hours of paid sick leave restored for three employees.

Quote:                                               

“Prevailing wage laws require federal contractors and subcontractors to pay employees accurately and ensure they receive all health and welfare benefits,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Roberto Melendez in Richmond, Virginia. “We encourage other employers in the nursing care and rehabilitation industry to evaluate their own pay practices to ensure they are in compliance with the law.”

Background:                                      

Wonder City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center provides adult day care to private citizens and U.S. military veterans and holds federal contracts with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division’s numerous online resources for employers, including websites for frequently asked questions on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, Executive Orders 13658, 13706, 14026and 14055, Government Contracts Compliance Assistance Toolkits, training and outreach, wage determination and conformances, and compliance assistance and enforcement processes. Employers and workers can also contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE.

Employers can contact CORPS - Community Outreach Resource Planning Specialists for compliance assistance and/or to schedule free outreach for federal employment laws. 

Workers can visit Workers Owed Wages, to determine if they think they may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers alike can help track their hours worked and pay by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $154,009 in back wages and liquidated damages from an international plastics manufacturer that willfully failed to include bonus payments when calculating overtime for 743 workers.

The wage recovery ends an exhaustive effort, highlighted by a March 1, 2024, Office of Administrative Law Judges consent decree in which Primex Plastics Corporation agreed to pay the back wages and damages identified in an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. The decree also required the employer to pay $128,589 in civil money penalties to the department for the willful nature of the violations.

“Employers must pay qualified workers overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek and include non-discretionary bonuses, such as those based on attendance or on quality and accuracy of work, when calculating overtime wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “Our investigation found Primex Plastics Corp. left bonuses out of their overtime calculations and, in addition to being liable for more than $150,000 in wages and damages, the company paid significant penalties for their violations.” 

The action follows an examination of company records from June 27, 2020, through June 26, 2022, by division investigators. This is not the first time Primex Plastics’ pay practices have violated federal overtime regulations. In 2002, the division recovered $3,246 for two salaried workers legally owed overtime. In 2010 and 2011, the company failed to include bonuses in overtime calculations for hourly employees and material handlers incorrectly categorized as exempt from overtime, resulting in payment of $203,960 in back wages to 991 workers. 

“Despite receiving information from our investigators about how to comply during multiple investigations, Primex still failed to pay employees their lawfully owed wages correctly,” added Salazar. “In cases like this one, where employers repeatedly violate workers’ rights, the department will pursue additional penalties to hold employers accountable.”

Workers and employers 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 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 bonuses under the Fair Labor Standards Act and 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 and iPhone devices for free to track work hours and pay.

ROSEDALE, LA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order assessing the operator of a Rosedale farm $12,000 in civil money penalties and preventing the Louisiana employers from applying for H-2A certification to bring foreign workers to the U.S. to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs for one year, after investigators found the farm’s operator intimidated and threatened workers in violation of the law. 

Entered Aug. 16, 2024, by the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges, the consent decree is the latest result of a June 2021 investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of Rivet & Sons LLC, a sugar cane and soybean farm near Baton Rouge. During its investigation, the division learned the farm’s operator denied H-2A workers in the fields adequate water. After learning workers had asked his son for assistance, Glynn Rivet - then the farm’s owner - screamed obscenities, pointed handguns at the workers and fired shots in retaliation. The business’ ownership has since been transferred to Brent Rivet and Clinton S. Rivet. 

“This case’s resolution reflects the Wage and Hour Division’s commitment to protecting the nation’s vulnerable workforce, including agricultural workers,” said Wage and Hour Southwest Regional Administrator Betty Campbell in Dallas. “We will not tolerate retaliation against, punishing or blacklisting of employees because they exercise their rights under the law.”

In October 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge ordered Glynn Rivet to pay $75,000 in back wages and forbid him from violating the H-2A program’s anti-retaliation provisions. The court also ordered Glynn Rivet not to communicate with any of his current, former and prospective workers; not to come within 1,500 feet of any worker; not to carry any firearm within 1,500 feet of any worker; and not to enter worker housing and the fields where employees work.  In a separate investigation, the Department assessed $13,926 in civil money penalties for the company’s failure to comply with field sanitation requirements.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will work tirelessly to protect the rights of H-2A workers, including their rights to basic needs such as water, meals and field sanitation facilities without fear of abuse or retaliation from their employers,” said Regional Solicitor John Rainwater in Denver. “Let this case demonstrate that the department will stay the course to ensure the rights of these workers are not violated.”

For more information about the H-2A program and agricultural labor laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline confidentially at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division 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, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.        

U.S. Department of Labor V. Rivet & Sons, 

and LLC Clinton Rivet, Individually

OALJ Case No. 2021-TNE-00011

Employer:                             Bulletproof Plumbing & Heating Inc. 

Investigation site:             6920 Ropers Point 

                                                     Colorado Springs, CO 80908

Findings:                                The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Bulletproof Plumbing & Heating Inc. paid 27 non-exempt plumbers straight time for hours over 40 in a workweek, when time and one-half was required by federal law. 

Back wages recovered:        $69,050 in back wages for 27 employees

Damages recovered:              $69,050 in liquidated damages for 27 employees

Quote: “Construction workers often work long hours doing hard, strenuous jobs and they have the right to be paid the overtime they earn and are owed,” said Wage and Hour District Director David Skinner in Denver. “The Department of Labor is determined to ensure that employers understand their legal responsibilities and hold them accountable when they fail to meet them.” 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging that Coway USA Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that sells, leases and services household appliances, failed to pay overtime wages earned by more than 180 employees, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Coway knowingly shortchanged employees who serviced and maintained company products by falsifying employment records to hide all hours worked by employees. The investigation also revealed that Coway failed to account or pay for time spent by employees on calls with customers, loading and unloading vehicles with products for delivery, trips to the warehouse to pick up inventory and attending mandatory trainings. Additionally, Coway automatically deducted 30 minutes per day for lunch even though employees worked through lunch to meet customer needs or stay on schedule.

In addition to falsifying records, the department alleges that Coway utilized a flawed methodology for purposes of computing overtime pay, further reducing their overtime liability and depriving employees of their overtime wages. 

The division estimates Coway owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime wages to more than 180 employees. In addition to seeking the recovery of all unpaid wages, the department is seeking an equal amount in liquidated damages. 

“Coway knowingly violated federal law by depriving workers of their hard-earned overtime pay and falsifying the hours they worked,” explained Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “Coway’s violations have to be remedied and the company must be brought into compliance to ensure workers are fully and accurately compensated.”  

“Our investigation found Coway, with brand ambassadors such as Korean pop band BTS, failed to pay more than 180 workers their overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kimchi Bui in Los Angeles. “Employers can pay by piece-rate based on the number of units employees service, but they must pay overtime using the correct methodology and accounting for all hours worked.”

Based in Los Angeles, Coway USA Inc. is a subsidiary of international household appliance manufacturer Coway Co. Ltd. The company produces water purifiers, air purifiers, bidets, water softeners and mattresses from South Korea.

The Wage and Hour Division’s Los Angeles District Office conducted the investigation. The regional Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco is litigating the case in court.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

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

CHICAGO – A federal judge has ordered Mariusz Lekarczyk, the owner and operator of four Chicago-area We Wash Hand Wash and Car Detail Centers, and We Wash Car Care Center Inc. to pay $799,566 in back wages and damages to 110 employees and $110,990 in penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor, as part of a consent judgment and order obtained by the department. 

On September 19, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago ordered Lekarczyk and his company to pay the back wages owed by May 1, 2025 and penalties by August 1, 2025. The employer must immediately display posters and provide information to employees about their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

The court’s action was spurred by the filing of a complaint in district court after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division discovered Lekarczyk did not pay workers overtime at time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek or keep records of payments to workers, as required. The division found violations at the company’s Chicago locations at 2042 S. Halsted St. and 4660 W. Lawrence Ave. from at least June 23, 2020, to June 22, 2022, and at their 2744 Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park and 5600 New Wilke Road, Rolling Meadows locations between Oct. 21, 2020, and Oct. 20, 2022.

The complaint alleges Lekarczyk and his company paid workers by check for the first 40 hours they worked, then paid for overtime hours in cash at straight time without the overtime rates. 

The Halsted and Lawrence locations were previously investigated by the division in 2013, where similar overtime violations were found.

“The recovery of these rightfully earned wages will have a tremendous impact on the employees who earned them and sends a clear message to all employers that we will not tolerate an employer’s failure to pay overtime,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Tom Gauza in Chicago. “We appreciate the court’s support in the Department of Labor’s fight on behalf of workers and in holding employers legally accountable.”

“The U.S. Department of Labor will take all necessary legal actions – including recovering back wages, seeking damages and assessing penalties – to hold employers who violate the law accountable,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Z. Heri in Chicago.

The department’s compliance guide explains employees’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

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

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

DOL v. We Wash Car Care Center Inc., d/b/a We Wash, Mariusz Lekarczyk, owner

Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-06259