HONOLULU – A federal investigation has recovered $33,399 in back wages and liquidated damages for 14 underpaid workers of an Oahu tour operator who denied crew members on a company tour boat their overtime wages.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Ocean Journeys LLC – operating as And You Creations – failed to pay the required overtime pay rates for hours over 40 in a work week, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Investigators found the employer paid crew members on its Waianae tour boat partial overtime hours at time and one-half their rate of pay and paid the remaining wages at straight time which they then listed as ‘bonus’ payments on company payroll records. The division also found Ocean Journeys failed to include incentive bonuses or commissions in the rates of pay when calculating overtime pay due.

In addition to back wages and damages, the department assessed Ocean Journeys $2,618 in penalties for the willful nature of the violations.

“Overtime wages earned should be overtime wages paid,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “Employers cannot manipulate or attempt to hide hours worked in an effort to avoid their obligation to pay earned overtime lawfully.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Honolulu saw its unemployment rate drop from 5.3 to 3.2 percent from March 2021 to March 2022, making it more difficult for employers to recruit and retain workers who can make choices about the employers for whom they work.

“With Honolulu’s low unemployment rate, employers who fail to meet their legal obligations to their workers are competing with employers who pay workers their rightful wages,” Trotter explained. “In addition to the costly consequences of back wages and damages, employers whose pay practices violate the law will find it difficult to fill vacancies with the people needed to do the work that makes their company successful.”

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of their immigration status. The department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor will hold an online listening session for West Coast employees, employers and other stakeholders on June 3, 2022, on possible revisions to the regulations that enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

Since 1938, federal overtime regulations have been a cornerstone of the laws the department’s Wage and Hour Division enforces. These regulations protect workers and benefit workers and their families, their employers and the community at-large. The FLSA requires employers to pay most U.S. employees 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 hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

The law provides a minimum wage and overtime pay exemption for workers employed as “bona fide” executive, administrative or professional employees. Generally, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week to be exempt.

“Our goal is to use these sessions to listen, engage the public and hear their perspectives on the possible impact of changes to the regulations,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “In today’s competitive labor market, job quality and fair pay are critical to retaining and recruiting the people needed to keep businesses open.”

“Industry demands and the challenges employers face are an important part of any discussion on regulatory change. We want to hear from industry leaders and employers,” Looman added.

The division announced that it will hold a listening session for employers and industry stakeholders as follows:

WHO:                         Employers, employer representatives, employer associations

WHEN:                      Friday, June 3, 2022, 12:30-1:30 p.m. PDT

WHERE:                    Register for the listening session.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Two Birmingham delivery companies, employed by FedEx Corp. as subcontractors, shortchanged 235 workers after wrongly claiming the workers were not entitled to overtime pay under motor carrier regulations, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Steel City Couriers Inc. and Cahaba Valley Couriers Inc. paid workers straight time for all hours or a flat weekly rate without overtime compensation. They also failed to maintain accurate records of hours worked. These practices violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Division investigators found employers misapplied an FLSA exemption from overtime requirements when workers duties involve driving on interstate highways, operating delivery trucks weighing at least 10,000 pounds, or when working for an employer who falls under the regulations governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The investigation led to the recovery of $181,379 in back wages for 235 workers.

“Misapplying overtime rules deprives workers of their legal right to be paid time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kenneth Stripling in Birmingham, Alabama. “Employers who ignore their obligations and violate workers’ rights can find their mistakes costly and their ability to recruit and retain the people they need to run a successful business difficult, if not impossible.”

“Violations like this could have been avoided by contacting the Wage and Hour Division, whose staff can help employers understand their responsibilities under the law,” Stripling added.

The division offers multiple compliance assistance resources, including a fact sheet on the FLSA’s motor carrier exemption to provide employers the information they need to comply with the law.

Employer:                              Super King Buffet Inc.

Investigation site:                 4591 Hardy St., Hattiesburg, MS 39402

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the employer paid some kitchen employees a monthly salary that allowed their average hourly pay to fall below federal minimum wage requirements, and violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer also failed to provide evidence that it paid two servers their cash wage, which invalidated the claimed tip credit.

Back Wages Recovered:       $168,864 in back wages and liquidated damages for 17 workers.                                               

Quote: “Paying a worker a monthly salary does not relieve an employer from their obligation to pay their workers at least the federal minimum wage or overtime premiums, should those apply,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “This violation is all-too-common in the restaurant industry and that must stop. Agreements with workers that violate pay practices governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act are illegal schemes.”

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.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

PEORIA, IL – More than 3,000 caregivers at 84 residential nursing care facilities across three Midwestern states must be paid $2,939,576 in back overtime wages by the locations’ Illinois-based management company to resolve violations found in a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Petersen Health Care Inc. of Peoria failed to pay the correct overtime because the employer wrongly assumed the affected workers were not entitled to overtime pay. They failed to pay wages for meal periods of less than 20 minutes, did not add bonuses and other incentive pay to workers’ hourly rate when calculating overtime pay, and failed to maintain accurate records of work hours. Their actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“While residential healthcare workers at Petersen Health Care Inc. provided around-the-clock, daily living assistance and delivered essential care to people in need, they were subject to pay practices that underreported their hours of work and denied them the pay they were legally due.” said Wage and Hour Division Acting Administrator Jessica Looman. “The U.S. Department of Labor will ensure that workers who commit themselves to caring for others will receive the wages they earned so they can also take care of themselves and their families.”

In addition to agreeing to pay the overtime back wages, the company’s primary owner and CEO Mark Petersen signed an enhanced compliance agreement with the department to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future.

From 2019 to 2021, Wage and Hour Division investigations recovered more than $22.7 million for Midwest healthcare workers as a result of violations of worker protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In March 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the 682,000 healthcare and social services workers left their positions and the field had more than 2 million openings. As the aging U.S. population grows and demand for home healthcare services increases, employment in a variety of healthcare sectors is projected to grow 16 percent from 2020 to 2030 – faster than the average for all occupations – adding about 2.6 million new jobs.

“As healthcare industry employers struggle to retain and recruit workers to provide the services necessary for their businesses to succeed, failing to respect workers’ rights and pay workers their full wages means that these essential workers will look elsewhere for employment,” Looman added.

Petersen Health Care Inc. manages skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation facilities across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. The division has found the company systematically violated wage and hour laws on numerous occasions in as many as 30 investigations in the last two decades. In 2009, a consent judgment was executed ordering Petersen to pay $42,000 and to comply with the FLSA. In the last six years, the division found back wages of $88,000 due in seven investigations that incorporated findings at several other locations.     

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.

Employer:                              Open Heart Senior Home Care LLC

Investigation site:                  615 Market St.

Port Gibson, MS 39150

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the employer paid straight-time rates to employees for hours over 40 in a workweek, and failed to pay the extra half-time rate as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires. The employer coded these hours under different categories such as training and employee appreciation.

Back Wages Recovered:       $39,410 in back wages for 28 workers.                                       

Quote: “The healthcare industry is expanding quickly as the demand for services from an aging population grows. Unfortunately, we find wage violations all-too-commonly when industry employers shortchange workers’ wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “Workers denied the full wages then must work harder to support themselves and their families. The Department of Labor exists to hold employers accountable when they fail to meet their obligations.”

“In a growing economy and industry, employers who fail to pay rightful wages to workers may find it more difficult to retain and recruit the people they need to do the jobs necessary to help their businesses succeed,” Hall added. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division to avoid compliance issues.”

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.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has renewed a multi-year nationwide initiative to help workers and increase federal compliance by food service employers, an industry where – in fiscal year 2021 – the department’s Wage and Hour Division found violations in nearly 85 percent of its restaurant investigations.

These investigations led the division to recover more than $34.7 million in back wages for more than 29,000 workers and to assess employers with $3.2 million in penalties.

The food service workers initiative combines enforcement with outreach and education to raise awareness of the types of pay practices and other actions by employers that most commonly violate the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal labor laws. These violations include those related to the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, tips, employing child labor, and making illegal wage deductions. The effort will encourage employers and workers to learn more about the protections and assistance the Wage and Hour Division offers.

“Food service industry workers are among our nation’s lowest paid essential workers and they depend on every dollar they earn to help provide for themselves and their families,” explained Wage and Hour Division Acting Administrator Jessica Looman. “Wage and Hour Division investigations find far too many employers are denying employees their rightful wages or violating other legal protections, making it much more difficult for these workers to make ends meet.

The department recently published new resources addressing retaliation against employees who assert their workplace rights or cooperate with investigations by the Wage and Hour Division. Retaliation by employers often prevents these vulnerable workers from exercising their workplace rights under the FLSA, which ensures they are paid the wages they are owed.

“Our initiative will also focus on combatting retaliation by employers against workers who report violations, or who cooperate with federal investigations, a troubling aspect of some of our investigations,” Looman added.

The division’s Essential Workers, Essential Protections initiative provides resources and information for essential workers. It also offers resources for employers to help them avoid the costly consequences of non-compliance with federal laws governed by the division.

Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions. The department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Lea en Español.

DALLAS ─ The U.S. Department of Labor will hold an online listening session for Southwest employees and their stakeholders on May 25, 2022, on possible revisions to the regulations that enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

Since 1938, federal overtime regulations have been a cornerstone of the laws the department’s Wage and Hour Division enforces. These regulations protect workers and benefit workers and their families, their employers and the community at-large. The FLSA requires employers to pay most U.S. employees 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 hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

 The law, however, provides an exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for workers employed as “bona fide” executive, administrative or professional employees. In general, to be exempt, employees must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $684 per week.

“Our goal is to use these sessions to listen, engage workers and hear their perspectives on the possible impact of changes to the regulations,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “As we consider the needs of today’s workforce and industry demands, we need public input to ensure that revisions to the overtime regulations fulfill the original intent and promise of the law.”

In fiscal year 2021, the department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $138 million in overtime back wages for more than 145,000 workers. In its FLSA investigations, the division found overtime back wages represented 80 percent of all back wages found due.

The division announced that it will hold a listening session for workers, employee stakeholders and union representatives as follows:

WHO:                         Employees, Employee advocates and union representatives

WHEN:                      Wednesday, May 25, 2022

                                     6 - 7 p.m. CDT

WHERE:                    Register for the listening session.

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

Offered 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 on-demand video training on many Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act topics. In addition, online Question & Answer sessions on DBRA and SCA compliance will be offered live in June and September.

Davis-Bacon Act compliance Q&As are scheduled on June 14 and Sept. 13, and Service Contract Act compliance Q&As are scheduled on June 15 and Sept. 14, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. EDT.

“As the Biden-Harris administration continues to make unprecedented investments in the nation’s infrastructure, the Wage and Hour Division wants to ensure employers on federally funded projects comply with all regulations,” said Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “Our online compliance seminars offer excellent opportunities for contractors, workers and contracting agencies to avoid compliance issues, and help us ensure that good jobs are being created with the extensive improvements of our nation’s infrastructure.”

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

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

Employer name:                     Morales Plumbing LLC

Investigation site:                  Meadows at Nicholson Family Apartments

                                                         11777 Nicholson Drive

                                                         Baton Rouge, LA 70810

Findings: The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred Morales Plumbing LLC from future government contracts after the department’s Wage and Hour Division found egregious violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Investigators found Morales Plumbing of Geismar failed to pay prevailing wage rates, fringe benefits and all hours worked as required. The employer paid some plumbers a daily flat rate without regard to the number of hours worked and with no additional fringe benefits for work and failed to keep accurate payroll records. Morales Plumbing LLC was employed as a contractor on a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development project in Baton Rouge.

Back wages recovered:         $32,835 for three plumbers and one laborer.

Quote: “Our investigation found substantial prevailing wage and fringe benefit violations by Morales Plumbing LLC,” said Wage and Hour District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “The U.S. Department of Labor takes aggravated or willful violations of the laws it enforces very seriously. Due to the nature and severity of the violations found, this employer has lost the opportunity to participate in government contracting for at least three years.”