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.

SAN DIEGO – Un franquiciado de McDonald’s pagará $25,920 en multas luego de que una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubriera que el empleador asignó a empleados menores de edad trabajos peligrosos en tres ubicaciones de Santa Ana, en violación de las leyes de trabajo infantil.

La División de Horas y Salarios del departamento descubrió que los restaurantes – operados por Man-Cal Inc. y Cal-Man Corp., con sede en Costa Mesa –  violaron las disposiciones sobre trabajo infantil de la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo al emplear a menores de edad en ocupaciones peligrosas. Los investigadores identificaron a 18 empleados menores llenando y operando compactadores de basura.

Los reglamentos sobre trabajo infantil de la FLSA se promulgaron para proteger las oportunidades educativas de los menores de edad y prohibir su empleo en trabajos y bajo condiciones perjudiciales para su salud o bienestar. Estas regulaciones incluyen restricciones sobre los tipos de trabajos que pueden realizar.

Una de esas reglas, la Orden de Ocupaciones Peligrosas No. 12, prohíbe a menores de 18 años cargar, operar y descargar compactadores eléctricos y máquinas de procesamiento de papel, incluidos compactadores de basura y empacadoras de papel y cartón.

Además del pago de multas, la propietaria de las franquicias, Virginia Mangione, acordó asegurar capacitación y supervisión adicionales para gerentes y empleados en sus 10 sucursales para evitar futuras violaciones.

“Los cambios acordados por la propietaria garantizarán la seguridad de trabajadores jóvenes”, dijo el Director Distrital de la División de Horas y Salarios Eric Murray en San Diego. “Esta mano de obra joven nos está brindando a todos servicios de alta demanda. A cambio, no deberían tener que exigir derechos básicos del trabajador, como la seguridad laboral. Recomendamos a todos los empleadores que contratan a jóvenes que evalúen sus actuales estándares laborales y hagan lo mejor por nuestros menores”.

Vea información para empleadores, padres, trabajadores jóvenes y educadores sobre empleo de menores.

Para más información sobre la FLSA y otras leyes de la división, llame a la línea de ayuda gratuita de la agencia al 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Conozca más sobre la División de Horas y Salarios, incluyendo una herramienta de búsqueda para usar si usted cree que la división podría tener salarios atrasados. Los trabajadores pueden llamar confidencialmente a la División de Horas y Salarios con preguntas – sin importar su estatus migratorio – y el departamento puede hablar con los que llamen en más de 200 idiomas.

Read in English

JACKSONVILLE, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor has found $118,042 in back wages and liquidated damages due to 10 employees of a Jacksonville restaurant operator who forced servers to work for tips alone, denied overtime wages to others and failed to keep accurate records of the hours employees worked.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that E & E Quezada Food Services Corp., operator of Rosy’s Mexican Restaurant, failed to pay its servers any wages, forcing them to rely on customer tips as their sole compensation. The division also found Rosy’s failed to pay overtime at a rate of one and one-half the rate of pay to dishwashers, cooks and certain servers for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Investigators discovered the employer also failed to maintain accurate payroll records, including starting and ending times, as well as the total daily and weekly hours worked, as the law requires.

The division also found Rosy’s allowed a 15-year-old employee to work after 7 p.m. during the school week, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s work hour standards for workers under 16.

“By denying servers a cash wage and forcing them to live on tips alone and denying other workers their overtime pay, Rosy’s Mexican Restaurant made it harder for these employees, who depend on every dollar, to take care of themselves and their families,” 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 alike understand their rights and responsibilities. Violations like those found in this case can be easily avoided.”

Agency investigators learned of the employer's practices through the Employment Education and Outreach alliance. The alliance is a collaboration of community and nongovernmental organizations, including state, local, and federal agencies and Hispanic consulates that provides information and assistance to Spanish-speaking employees and employers regarding workplace rights and responsibilities. Workers and employers can reach EMPLEO by calling (877) 522-9832 or (877) 55-AYUDA.

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.

Read this news release En Español.

FORT WAYNE, IN – The operator of seven Fort Wayne area restaurants shortchanged 17 of its managers when the salary it paid was determined to be insufficient to relieve the employer of its overtime obligations. This led to a violation of overtime pay requirements when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division at five Cebollas Mexican Grill locations in Fort Wayne, and two others in Angola and Auburn, determined the managers’ salary failed to meet the executive exemption requirement under federal law. The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $63,546 in unpaid overtime wages for the 17 managers.

“Before employers assume they do not have to pay overtime, they must ensure that the salary paid and the duties performed by managers are sufficient to relieve the employer of their legal overtime obligations,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “Simply calling an employee a manager and paying them a salary is not sufficient. This is a very common violation, and it can have a negative impact on recruitment and retention of workers. During the course of the pandemic, many essential workers, including those in food service, have sought other employment when their employer failed to pay the full and fair wages earned.”

In addition to the overtime violations, investigators found the employer failed to maintain accurate records of hours worked for managers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that, in the Midwest, 958,000 food and accommodation services workers left their positions in December 2021. BLS also projects about 41,400 openings for food service managers each year, on average, from 2020 to 2030.

“Amid this significant shift of workers away from the food service industry, employers should ensure they are paying workers properly. We encourage employers to seek guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor to prevent costly violations and remain competitive,” added Lewis. “Restaurant employers whose pay practices comply with the law can have an advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining workers. Those who shortchange workers may find themselves without staff to operate their businesses well.”

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.

Lea en Español

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Every day, millions of careworkers tend to the vital needs of people in communities nationwide. They work long hours and put themselves at risk amid the pandemic, 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.

Recent investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $259,647 for 330 workers of two West Michigan employers whose pay practices denied the workers their full overtime wages and violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

At the Dobie Road-Ingham County Medical Care in Okemos, the division found the employer violated the  FLSA’s overtime requirements for healthcare workers when it paid overtime after 12 hours per day instead of after 8 hours in day and 80 hours in a two-week pay period, whichever is greater. The investigation led to the recovery of $235,742 for 305 workers at the long-term residential and rehabilitation facility.

In Muskegon, at the main office of Martell & Company Home Care and Assistance LLC, investigators found the employer paid straight time instead of time-and-a-half the required rate of pay after 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also failed count spent traveling between worksites as hours worked and compensate workers for that time. Both actions led the division to assess overtime violations, and to recover $23,905 for 26 home healthcare workers in Muskegon and Martell & Company’s Grand Rapids branch office.

“Today’s commemoration of National Caregivers Day reminds us of the important work that the nation’s healthcare workers do for us and for the community as a whole,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Mary O’Rourke in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “We owe these workers our gratitude and the Wage and Hour Division will hold accountable those employers who fail to pay employees their fair and rightfully earned wages.”

“Failure to pay overtime accurately is a common violation, especially in healthcare. These practices can affect an employer’s ability to recruit and retain needed workers. When workers are not paid the wages they have earned, especially under the stresses caused by the pandemic, they may look for work elsewhere.”

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. These trends indicate that industry employers will find it more difficult to recruit and retain without being highly competitive and ensuring compliance with law governing workers’ rights.

“Healthcare workers are in great demand and facing record burnout,” added O’Rourke. “Healthcare employers whose pay practices comply with the law have a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining workers. Employers unsure about their legal obligations should contact the U.S. Department of Labor to prevent costly violations and be able to compete as an employer.”

From 2019 to 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered $3.5 million for Michigan’s healthcare workers.

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). 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.

Employers’ names:   Schuetz Enterprises Inc., operating as Regency Home Care Georgia
1750 Old Spring House Lane
Atlanta, GA 30338

Edlyn Healthcare Services Inc.
1755 N. Brown Road, Ste. 200
Lawrenceville, GA 30043

Investigation site:      Atlanta

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators identified overtime violations by the two Atlanta home healthcare providers. The two employers combined failed to pay overtime to 108 workers when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Regency Home Care Georgia paid its caregivers straight time for overtime hours by reducing the hourly pay rate when workers exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. Edlyn Healthcare Services Inc. paid its workers straight-time rates for overtime hours, instead of time-and-one-half rates.  These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime violations.

Back Wages Recovered:       $228,464 for 61 workers at Regency Home Care Georgia

$127,084 for 47 workers at Edlyn Healthcare Services

“While they provide essential services to people in need, home healthcare workers are among our nation’s lowest wage earners. Their employers must pay them all of the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “Violations like those committed by Regency Home Care Georgia and Edlyn Healthcare Services are all-too-common in the home healthcare industry. Employers can easily avoid these violations by contacting a local Wage and Hour Division office for technical assistance.”

Background: Edlyn Healthcare Services Inc. and Schuetz Enterprises Inc. provide companionship and other services to individuals with disabilities. 

The U.S. Department of Labor is working to protect the country’s professional caregivers through an ongoing education, outreach and enforcement initiative to ensure their employers pay them their rightful wages and honor all protections afforded them by law.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

MANCHESTER, NH – A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Dos Amigos Burritos LLC, a Concord restaurant operator, improperly included managers in its tip pool. The investigation led to the recovery of $61,788 in tips and liquidated damages for 39 employees to rectify the violation and compensate them properly.   

The department published a final rule, “Tip Regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act”, effective April 30, 2021. Under that rule, an employer cannot keep employees’ tips under any circumstances; managers and supervisors also may not keep tips received by employees, including through tip pools. This prohibition applies even if tipped workers are paid hourly at rates equal to or above the full minimum wage. 

“Tipped workers in the food services industry rely on their hard-earned tips to make ends meet. Restaurant employers must understand that keeping workers’ tips or diverting a portion of these tips to managers or supervisors in a tip pool is illegal,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “To avoid costly mistakes, like those found in this investigation, employers should contact us to discuss their responsibilities.”

The division’s investigation also identified three 15-year-old minors working in violation of the FLSA’s child labor hours restrictions at Dos Amigos Burritos’ Portsmouth, New Hampshire, location. The restaurant allowed employees under 16 years of age to work more than five hours on a school day and as late as 10 p.m. The employer paid $2,073 in civil money penalties to resolve these child labor violations.

The FLSA limits the hours youth under the age of 16 can work in non-agricultural occupations and outside of school hours to no more than 3 hours on a school day or 8 hours on non-school days; no more than 18 hours in school weeks or 40 hours in non-school weeks; not prior to 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., except between June 1 through Labor Day when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m.

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, restaurant employment and restaurant workers, 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 and a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.