COLUMBUS, OH– Home healthcare workers assist their clients with daily living tasks and even stay overnight at their homes to provide around-the-clock care. Despite their essential labor, these workers are sometimes denied all their rightful wages by their employer’s illegal pay practices, as federal investigators found in a recent labor investigation in Columbus.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division reviewed the pay practices of 1st Choice Family Services Inc. and found the employer failed to pay overtime to some workers paid on a salary basis. The employer paid “straight time” for hours over 8 in a day or 80 hours in a two-week pay period when, by law, healthcare workers should have been paid time and one-half their normal rate of pay. 1st Choice also failed to record overnight care providers’ sleep hours as hours worked, as required. These actions denied affected workers their full overtime wages and violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $603,882 for 119 workers employed by 1st Choice Family Services Inc. at its Columbus headquarters and at locations in Reynoldsburg and Findlay.

“Home healthcare workers provide vital services and perform basic living tasks for those unable to care for themselves. They help their clients and their families maintain their dignity in challenging circumstances,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Marcy Boldman in Des Moines, Iowa. “As industry employers struggle to find people to fill the jobs needed to remain competitive, they must take into account that retaining and recruiting workers is more difficult when employers fail to respect workers’ rights and pay them their full wages.”

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

To help employers understand common industry compliance issues, the Wage and Hour Division is hosting a virtual Midwest Care Givers Summit on March 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. CDT. Register to attend.  

In December 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the 679,000 healthcare and social services workers left their positions. 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.

The department’s essential workers, essential protections initiative focuses resources on educating essential care workers and their communities about their rights to minimum wage and overtime pay and how to file a complaint if they believe their rights have been violated. The initiative also targets misclassification of workers as independent contractors, an illegal practice that may deprive workers of legally earned wages, and other protections.

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.

SIOUX CITY, IA – Slaughterhouse workers spend long hours on their feet to process livestock and put beef, pork and other meats on the nation’s dinner tables – essential work that keeps Americans fed. For their labor, employers are legally required to ensure these workers are paid all their rightful wages.

A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC pork processing facility in Sioux City found the employer failed to pay 413 employees for work completed before and after their shifts, such as set up, clean up and knife sharpening.

By failing to count and pay for this work, the employer – operating as STF – violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Division investigators determined that the employer failed to pay the employees for all hours worked, and did not pay overtime at time and one-half their average hourly rate of pay when workers exceeded 40 hours in a work week. STF also failed to maintain accurate payroll records, as required.

The division recovered $331,807 in back wages for the affected workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the nation’s slaughterhouses and meat packers employ about 78,000 people.

“Our nation’s meat processing facilities are often staffed by vulnerable workers, some with language barriers and many unaware of their federal wage law protections,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Marcy Boldman in Des Moines, Iowa. “The division priorities worker protections for this essential and vulnerable workforce. Wage and Hour Division is available to answer questions from employees and employers about wage laws and other compliance issues in over 200 languages, regardless of immigration status.”

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.

PENSACOLA, FL – A commercial cleaning contractor shortchanged 19 workers at a Federal Aviation Administration worksite in Pensacola by failing to combine hours worked at different job sites and not paying prevailing wages and benefits required on federally funded contracts, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Cole Industries Inc. – doing business as Service Master Professional Cleaning Service in Pensacola – violated the Fair Standards Labor Act by paying certain workers an hourly rate for hours worked on one job, then paying a flat rate regardless of the number of hours worked on a second job. By doing so, the employer failed to combine the hours from both jobs to determine the total number of hours worked and failed to pay the workers time-and-a-half the proper rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, which led to overtime violations.

The employer also violated the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act when they failed to pay employees the required prevailing wages and health and welfare benefits for work performed under a federal contract. The division also found Service Master violated the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act when they paid one worker a flat rate when they should have paid them an overtime rate for hours worked on the contract.

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $39,806 in back wages and liquidated damages to 19 employees.

“Contractors and sub-contractors who hire workers to perform work on projects funded by federal contracts must follow specific laws when paying those workers,” said Wage and Hour District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “When employers fail to pay proper prevailing wages on government contracts or don’t pay overtime as required, they violate the law, shortchange workers and gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding employers.”

The Wage and Hour Division will host Virtual Prevailing Wage Seminars on March 30, June 15 and September 14. Register to attend the seminars.

For more information about the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act or other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, 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.

ORLANDO, FL – Employers cannot avoid paying overtime by simply putting employees on a salary, a costly lesson learned by a Florida equipment rental company after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigators determined that DeLand’s CJ Don’s Rental Group LLC and Ormond Beach’s Logsyd Group LLC – both operating as Southern Equipment Rental – paid flat salaries to certain employees, regardless of the number of hours they worked. By doing so, the employer violated overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act that require most employees to receive  additional half-time when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek. In addition, Southern Equipment Rental failed to maintain records of hours worked by employees paid a fixed salary.

The investigation led to the division’s recovery of $65,967 in back wages and liquidated damages for 13 workers at the DeLand location and $56,309 for nine workers at the Ormond Beach location.

“Paying employees a salary doesn’t exclude employers from their legal obligation to pay overtime wages. Most workers, especially blue-collar workers, are required to receive additional half-time pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek, whether they are paid by the hour, the piece or on a salary basis,” said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “The Wage and Hour Division is available to help workers and employers understand their rights and responsibilities regarding the law. Violations like those found in this case are avoidable.”

The Wage and Hour Division provides multiple tools to help employers understand their responsibilities, and offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law. Workers can call the division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the agency’s website to 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.

PORTLAND, OR – The U.S. Department of Labor enforces laws that protect workers’ rights. It also holds unscrupulous employers who shortchange their workers accountable, as it has done on behalf of 118 workers at three Oregon restaurants after an investigation revealed wage theft and other violations.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found the operators of KKOKI Korean BBQ restaurants in Portland, Eugene and Salem withheld tips earned by workers, allowed managers to take a portion workers’ tips and paid overtime wages only when workers exceeded 86 hours per pay period instead of after 40 hours per week as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires. The employer also failed to keep accurate employee records.

The investigation led to a total recovery of $169,728, representing $84,864 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. In addition, the division assessed $30,199 in penalties for the willful nature of the employer’s violations.

“Restaurant industry workers are paid some of the country’s lowest wages, yet many put themselves at risk throughout the pandemic to serve their customers and help employers keep their businesses open,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carrie Aguilar in Portland, Oregon. “Wage theft, like that found in this case, hurts these essential workers and their families. Business owners must understand that violations can limit their ability to recruit and retain the people who do these jobs. As we’ve seen, the pandemic has prompted many restaurant industry workers to find employment that better suits their needs and find jobs with employers who will pay them all the wages they have earned.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division conducted 4,237 investigations in the food service industry, recovering $34.7 million in back wages for more than 29,000 employees nationwide.

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.

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Employer name:                   Area Wide Protection Inc., doing business as Roadtek Traffic Solutions LLC                                                                                                               5874 N. Lee Highway, Suite 100                                                                                                                                                                                                         Fairfield, VA 24435

Investigation by:                   U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division                                                                                                                                                              Richmond District Office

Dates of violations:               Oct. 29, 2020, to April 30, 2021

Violations’ locations:           Fairfield, Verona, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Roanoke, Pulaski and Manassas, Virginia; Kinston and Sanford, North Carolina; and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Investigation findings: Division investigators found Roadtek Traffic Solutions required employees to report to the office to conduct pre-and-post-shift tasks prior to starting their workday. However, Roadtek failed to pay employees for time spent performing pre-and-post-shift tasks, resulting in overtime violations. These employees were entitled to overtime wages at time-and-a-half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. For these Fair Labor Standards Act violations, Roadtek paid $112,187 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 297 non-exempt employees in Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. In addition, the employer failed to maintain an accurate record of hours worked, as the law requires.

Quote: “Workers deserve to be paid all the wages earned for all the hours they work. When workers are required to complete any tasks before their shift begins, the workday begins at the start of those tasks and it continues through the completion of the last post-shift activity,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Roberto Melendez in Richmond, Virginia. “We encourage other employers to use this investigation’s outcome as an opportunity to review their pay practices to avoid similar violations.”

Company description: Based in North Canton, Ohio, Roadtek Traffic Solutions provides traffic control services including flagging operation, detour, lane closure, barricade services, and installation and removal of signs. 

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.

CHICAGO ‒ Careworkers put in long hours tending to the vital needs of people in their homes and at health care facilities, yet they are among the nation’s lowest paid workers. Their jobs are made even more difficult when employers fail to pay them all their rightfully earned wages.

As part of U.S. Department of Labor efforts to build better jobs and increase pay equity, the department’s Wage and Hour Division regional office in Chicago will host a webinar on March 23 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. CDT titled, “Midwest Care Workers Summit 2022.”

The virtual summit brings together industry stakeholders from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin for an in-depth discussion about issues affecting federal labor law compliance within the health care industry in the Midwest.

“We want to hear directly from stakeholders in the healthcare industry about what the Wage and Hour Division can do to enhance their understanding of federal wages laws, provide resources and ensure essential healthcare workers are receiving the wages they are due,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri in Chicago. “The healthcare industry has faced relentless challenges throughout the pandemic, and the Wage and Hour Division is committed to taking better take care of those who take care of us.”

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

Building on the progress made with the Essential Workers - Essential Protections Initiative, the Wage and Hour Division embarked on a series of steps to increase communication between healthcare employers and the federal agency. They conducted more than 70 listening sessions with over 500 stakeholders across 50 cities nationwide.

“The U.S. Department of Labor’s recently announced ‘Good Jobs Initiative’ focuses on connecting the dots between the needs of employers and workers. The disruption caused by the pandemic provides a unique opportunity to ensure full and fair employment opportunities and proper wages as the country goes back to work. We can improve conditions for women who dominate the healthcare industry, and the nation’s economic recovery can propel us toward greater equity,” Lazzeri added.

Register to attend.

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). Calls can be received confidentially in over 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.

Employer name:                                Heavenly Victory LLC, doing business as Naranjero Super 1

Investigation site:                              Albuquerque, New Mexico

Investigation findings: Fair Labor Standards Act overtime violations found when the employer paid employees a fixed salary for all hours worked instead of time and one-half the hourly employees’ rate of pay. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division cited the employer with child labor violations for allowing two minors under 18 to operate a meat saw and a meat slicer in violation of the federal child labor hazardous order #10. Division investigators also found that Heavenly Victory LLC modified time records to reflect that employees only worked 40 hours per week, in violation of the FLSA’s recordkeeping provisions. 

Back wages recovered:                     $16,075 in owed overtime to four workers

Penalties:                                            Paid $4,888 in civil money penalties

“The Fair Labor Standards Act’s child labor regulations exist to ensure our children’s jobs and work hours do not jeopardize their safety, well-being or educational opportunities,” said Wage and Hour District Director Evelyn Ortiz in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “Employers must understand FLSA requirements to avoid child labor, overtime and recordkeeping violations, such as those in this case.”

AMERICAN CANYON, CA – A federal investigation has recovered $315,536 in back wages for 158 workers of American Canyon home care agency where the owner and CEO unlawfully required hourly employees who earned significant overtime to sign an agreement to be paid straight time for up to 160 hours per pay period.

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined A Bright Future Inc. violated overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay the affected workers for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek and by paying straight time for all hours of work, including overtime. The division also cited A Bright Future’s owner and CEO Max Konan for requiring workers to defer their overtime wages, also an FLSA violation.

In addition, the home care agency violated federal recordkeeping provisions when they failed to count workers’ hours funded and paid by the State of California’s In-Home Supportive Services program as hours worked.

The investigation led to the division’s recovery of $315,536 in back wages for the workers who provide in-home care, day program and transportation services to people with disabilities.

“The services home care workers provide are vital to the people whose quality of life depends on them – people with disabilities and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “Our investigation enabled us to help essential workers in an industry where our investigations find wage theft is all-too-common, and allowed us to put an average of nearly $2,000 into the pockets of each of the affected workers at A Bright Future Inc.”

Since 2017, the Wage and Hour Division completed more than 5,000 investigations of nursing care facilities, home health facilities, and child day care facilities. These investigations recovered more than $200 million dollars in back wages for employees.

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. 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.

LAUREL RUN, PA – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor recovered $221,307 in back wages and damages for 32 nursing staff employees of a Luzerne County treatment center found to be intentionally shortchanging workers of their overtime pay repeatedly.

A consent judgment entered by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Feb. 18, 2022, ordered payment of the back wages and liquidated damages by defendants Banyan Treatment Center LLC, Wilkes-Barre Treatment LLC which operates as Clearbrook Treatment Center in Laurel Run, and Banyan’s Vice President of Human Resources Joseph Bozza. The court’s action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined the employer manually deducted a 30-minute break from nurses unable to take their lunch breaks. By doing so, the employer failed to pay full wages to the affected workers.

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, the court ordered Clearbrook to pay a $33,184 civil money penalty, assessed by the department due to the repeat and willful nature of the violations. A 2019 investigation by the division found the treatment center committed similar violations.

“Caregiving employees often respond to emergencies, answer phones or monitor public facing posts during their meal breaks. The time they spend doing so is time worked and they must be paid for that time,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Alfonso Gristina in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “Clearbrook Treatment Center’s staff provide their clients with essential services and they deserve to be paid all of their hard-earned wages. The Wage and Hour Division will not tolerate willful violations of workers’ rights.”

“This consent judgment will help to ensure that employees are paid for all of the hours they work, and that employers who violate the law are held accountable,” said Adam Welsh, Counsel for Wage and Hour with the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia.

Owned by Banyan Treatment Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, Clearbrook Treatment Center provides inpatient drug rehabilitation services at locations in Laurel Run and in Winchendon, Massachusetts. Banyan Treatment Center operates 14 locations in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Texas. 

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.