WASHINGTON – The historic investment in our nation’s aging infrastructure made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – signed by President Biden on Nov. 15, 2021 – will have a significant impact on those involved in federal construction contracts. 

Since most of the projects funded or assisted through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage labor standards, construction workers on these projects must be paid at least the locally prevailing wage and fringe benefits required for the work they perform.

“Each year, the worker protections of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts apply to roughly $217 billion in federal and federally assisted construction projects, ensuring local prevailing wages are paid to approximately 1.2 million U.S. construction workers,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “We are excited that these worker protections will be available to even more workers because of the unprecedented investment in infrastructure made possible by Bilateral Infrastructure Law.”

To assist contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders in understanding and meeting Davis-Bacon compliance requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will present an interactive webinar, “Davis-Bacon Labor Standards for Infrastructure Projects,” on Feb. 28 and March 1, 2022. Participants may register for either date.

“By reaching out to contractors, contracting agencies, stakeholders and workers, we can help ensure they understand their responsibilities,” Looman added. “When government promotes fair competition and ensures fair wages, our economy works for everyone.”

The webinar will offer an overview of the Davis-Bacon compliance requirements followed by a Q&A session. Participants will be able to submit questions in advance or during the webinar. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Register for the webinar at Eventbrite. Upon registration, additional information – including the links to video trainings and virtual Q&A session dates – will be provided.

This event is the latest in the Wage and Hour Division’s ongoing efforts to increase awareness and improve compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements among employers performing work on federally funded construction or services contracts.

For more information on Davis-Bacon compliance with Bilateral Infrastructure Law, the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and other federal wage laws, please call the department’s toll-free helpline at 1-866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the Wage and Hour Division online.

TURLOCK, CA – Too often, federal investigators find foreign-born workers brought to the U.S. fail to receive the rights and protections they are legally due. Employers don’t pay them as the law requires, and transport them in unsafe vehicles and house them in overcrowded – and sometimes hazardous – conditions. Employers who exploit these workers gain an unfair advantage over industry competitors and lower standards for domestic workers.

A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found numerous violations of the H-2A agricultural worker program by Roberto Perez Farms and Perez Bros Farms Inc. in Turlock. Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employers:

• Illegally rejected domestic workers.
• Failed to pay the required H-2A rate to workers hired alongside H-2A visa workers.
• Did not provide H-2A workers with at least three-quarters of the work hours guaranteed on their contracts, and pay them the wages the program requires.
• Failed to reimburse H-2A workers for inbound and outbound transportation, visa and border crossing fees, as the law requires.
• Made illegal deductions from pay.
• Failed to maintain complete records, as required.

The division also determined that the employers transported workers in unsafe vehicles with bald tires and inoperable lights, and housed workers in unsafe and overcrowded conditions. Investigators also found Roberto Perez Farms and Perez Bros Farms Inc. failed to disclose all conditions of employment, provide wage statements to workers and pay wages when due, all violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.

The investigation recovered $82,616 in back wages for 92 workers and led the department to assess $36,765 in civil money penalties against the two California agricultural employers for multiple violations of the H-2A guest worker program.

“Agricultural employers violate basic labor laws when they reject domestic workers and instead use, abuse and steal the hard-earned wages and limited funds of guest workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento. “These violations are all too common in the agricultural industry. The Wage and Hour Division will continue to use every enforcement tool available to hold accountable those taking advantage vulnerable farmworkers and putting their health at risk.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division conducted 1,000 investigations of agricultural employers, recovering more than $8.4 million in back wages for 10,000 and assessing $7 million in penalties.

For more information about the H-2A visa program 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.

Lea en Español

BOSTON – An order issued by a federal judge in Massachusetts, has fully granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s motion for summary judgment regarding numerous violations of federal law by a Weymouth restaurant and its owner that deprived workers of their hard-earned wages and tips.

Entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the judgment orders Sweet Lemon Inc. – doing business as Sweet Lemons Thai Restaurant – and Pornthip Neampong to pay 13 affected workers $159,899 in back wages and tips, and an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus $25,000 in punitive damages, for a total of $344,798. The court also permanently enjoined the defendants from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime, recordkeeping and anti-retaliation provisions in the future.

The court’s action follows a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation and litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor.

The court determined there was no dispute that Sweet Lemon Inc. and Pornthip Neampong violated the FLSA as follows. The employers:

• Failed to pay employees one and one-half times their rate of pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.
• Kept all the tips the servers earned.
• Failed to maintain true and accurate records of employees’ work hours and wages.
• Retaliated against workers by having them sign statements containing false information and by interrogating an employee as to whether they spoke with the Wage and Hour Division.

“Sweet Lemon Inc. and Pornthip Neampong disregarded the rights of their essential workers to receive fair pay, and retaliated against employees who asserted their rights and cooperated with a federal investigation,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “The Wage and Hour Division does not tolerate FLSA retaliation against employees. Employees and employers alike should feel free to contact the Wage and Hour Division to learn about their respective rights and responsibilities under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We suggest other employers review their own pay practices to prevent violations.”

“In this significant victory for restaurant workers, the Secretary of Labor has recovered almost $320,000 in back wages, tips and liquidated damages for 13 employees who were denied the overtime compensation and tips that they worked hard to earn. The court’s decision recognizes that employers who retaliate against employees who assert their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act may pay the price in punitive damages. In this case, these punitive damages total $25,000. The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to pursuing all necessary legal avenues to obtain proper compensation for employees and deter retaliation and future violations by employers,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Maia Fisher in Boston.

The Wage and Hour Division’s Boston District Office conducted the original investigation. The Boston Regional Solicitor’s Office litigated the case for 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.

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.

Civil Action No. 20-12217-RGS.

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN – About one-third of adults with moderate disabilities participate in the workforce. A unique federal program allows these workers to make meaningful workforce contributions with employers allowed to pay a sub-minimum wage as long as they meet all program requirements. These employers must also provide the workers with job and life skills training designed to help them lead lives that are more independent and contribute to the economy.

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor found that New Hope Services, a non-profit industrial work center that hires workers with disabilities, failed to ensure workers with disabilities received required job and career training.  As a result, the employer could no longer pay sub-minimum wages, and should have paid the workers the full federal minimum wage of $7.25 for every hour of work. The investigation led to the recovery of $154,443 in minimum wages for 74 workers.

“Employers who qualify for the sub-minimum wage program have a moral and legal obligation to provide the career and skills training to qualified workers as required,” said Wage and Hour District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “Encouraging employment of adults of all abilities has a positive impact on the lives of these workers and our nation’s economy, but it must be done legally.”

Employees in New Hope Services’ vocational training program are paid a pro-rated minimum wage based upon the number of pieces or tasks completed within a specific timeframe. The vocational training program teaches employees skills such as staying on task, following directions and socializing at appropriate times.

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.

SAN JUAN, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking 287 former or current officers of the Puerto Rico Police Department, who worked for the department between June 13, 2010, and Aug. 31, 2014, and are owed back wages as part of a 2016 federal court order.

The order requires the Puerto Rico Police Department to pay $8,732,386 in back wages and interest to 2,642 current and former police officers in eight annual installments through 2024. The police department has delivered the back wages to most of these workers. However, the department was unable to contact 287 of the affected employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is now responsible for distributing these back wages and wants these employees to know that they can still claim their back wages. Even if employees received some installment payments, the Wage and Hour Division may have additional funds to distribute.

“While the Wage and Hour Division is determined to deliver back wages to the workers who earned them, sometimes we cannot find them. If we cannot do so, then by law, the uncollected funds will become property of the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” said Wage and Hour Division Caribbean District Director José R. Vázquez in Puerto Rico. “We encourage these workers to contact the Wage and Hour Division at 787-775-1947 or use our online search tool, Workers Owed Wages, in either Spanish or English to find out if they are owed back wages. When using the Workers Owed Wages system, please use the search term “PR Police.””

View how WOW works in English                            View how WOW works en Español

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Lea el comunicado de prensa en Español.

Note to Editors: Wage and Hour Division Caribbean District Director José R. Vázquez is available for news media interviews to discuss the back wage search and the Workers Owed Wages tools. Contact fitzgerald.edmund@dol.gov and lally.james.c@dol.gov.

FLAGLER BEACH, FL – A Flagler Beach bar and grill’s decision to keep portions of employees’ credit card tips to cover cash drawer shortages and customer walkouts voided their ability to receive a tip credit and pay each affected worker less than the full federal minimum wage.

As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Johnny D’s Beach Bar & Grill responsible for paying these workers the full minimum wage. The agency also found the employer paid overtime at improper rates. The employer’s actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $26,645 in back wages for 16 workers.

In the course of its investigation, the division learned that Johnny D’s allowed a 17-year-old worker to clean a dough mixer, an FLSA violation of occupations banned for minor employees under the age of 18. The employer also failed to keep an accurate record of the date of birth for the minor employee. The agency assessed the employer a $1,864 civil money penalty to address the violations.

“The Fair Labor Standards Act specifies what employers can and can’t do with tips their workers earn in return for good service. When they disregard these rules, as Johnny D’s Bar & Grill did, the outcome can be costly,” said Wage and Hour Division District Office Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “We encourage employers with tipped workers to review their pay practices to ensure compliance, and to contact us with any questions they have to avoid violations.”

In order to address child labor violations in the restaurant industry, the Southeast Region is hosting a special lunch and learn webinar for employers, minor-aged workers and their parents, school representatives and other interested stakeholders on Thursday, February 10th from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST. Participation is free, but registration is required.

The Wage and Hour Division encourages employers and workers to contact the agency directly with questions or use free, online resources to understand their workplace responsibilities and rights, including fact sheets such as Deductions from Wages under the FLSA. Individuals 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)

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.

COLUMBIA, SC – Operators of four well-known fast food restaurant locations illegally employed workers under the age of 18 at hours and in occupations that jeopardized their safety, a series of investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

Part of a cross-regional food services initiative in the Southeast by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, the investigations identified violations by operators of Subway, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Burger King and Frodo’s Pizza locations across the state.

“Restaurant industry employers must understand and comply with child labor laws concerning hours and occupations,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Child labor laws exists to ensure that young workers gain valuable workplace experience, but not at the expense of their education or safety. Industry employers, workers and their parents should contact us with their questions about youth employment laws. The kinds of violations found in these South Carolina investigations – and the penalties associated with them – could have been avoided.”

Investigators found the following violations of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act:

• Subway:
  • Harvey Restaurant Co., operator of two Greenville locations and two in Travelers Rest, allowed 13 minor employees between the ages of 14 and 15 to work past 9 p.m. during summer months. The division assessed the employer a $4,491 civil money penalty.
  • Pleasantway Inc., operator of two Greenville locations and one in Greer, allowed five 15-year-old employees to work past 7 p.m. between Labor Day and June 1. Four of these minors were also employed in prohibited baking activities. The division assessed the employer a $4,902 civil money penalty.

• Burger King:
  • Carolina Franchise Holdings LLC, operator of 36 Burger King franchise locations in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, allowed two 15-year-old employees to work more than 18 hours per week during school weeks at a Newberry location. The division assessed the employer a $1,382 civil money penalty.

• Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen:
  • PLC Dev Group LLC, operator of nine franchises in South Carolina and one in North Carolina, allowed three 15-year-old employees to work more than 18 hours per week during school weeks at South Carolina establishments in Seneca, Columbia and Mauldin. The division assessed the employer a $2,073 civil money penalty. Investigators also determined that PLC Dev Group clocked out some employees automatically, while they continued to perform work. The division recovered $2,031 in overtime back wages and liquidated damages for nine workers at South Carolina locations in Anderson, Boiling Springs, Columbia, Mauldin and Greer.

• Frodo’s Pizza:
  • FPI Inc., operator of a Greenville location, allowed three 16-year-old employees to work as delivery drivers. Federal law prohibits minors from operating motor vehicles as part of their occupation. The division assessed the employer a $3,006 civil money penalty.

In fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the Wage and Hour Division’s Southeast region found child labor violations in more than 190 food service employers investigated, resulting in more than $1 million in penalties assessed to employers.

The Southeast Region is hosting a lunch and learn webinar, Feb. 10 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST. This event provides an opportunity for participants to learn more about federal laws governing youth employment. Participation is free, but registration is required. Get information about protections for young workers on the department’s YouthRules! website. 

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.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Federal investigators found that the owners of three northern California restaurants willfully denied a cook and five other workers overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the ownership group of RMN Inc., SRMNR Inc. and MRN Inc. – joint owners of two restaurants operating as Taqueria Guadalajara and one as Taqueria Guadalajara Grill – failed to maintain accurate employee records, and did not combine hours worked across multiple locations. By doing so, they incurred overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours per week. Their actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The pandemic clearly demonstrated that restaurant workers are essential, frontline workers. Many are also among the lowest-paid workers in our economy. When a restaurant employer shortchanges their workers, it hurts them and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento, California. “We encourage all employers to review their pay practices and to contact us for information about how to avoid violations like those found in this case.”

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $42,496 in back wages and liquidated damages to six workers after the employer failed to pay them overtime wages as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires. In addition, the division also assessed $4,230 in penalties for the employer’s willful violations.

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $31.7 million in back wages for workers in the food service industry.

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.

UNION, NJ – A federal court in New Jersey ordered an electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning company based in Union, and its two co-managers, to pay 89 electricians, electrician helpers and HVAC technicians after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the defendants deliberately denied overtime.

In a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the court ordered FTR Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Inc. – operating as FTR Electrical & HVAC Services – the company’s part-owner, President Antonio Goncalves, and company Vice President Francisco Carmo to pay $711,694 in back wages and liquidated damages to the affected workers. The court also ordered the employer and its co-managers to pay $16,450 in civil money penalties and interest to the department for their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The court’s action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into the employer’s pay practices and litigation by the Office of the Solicitor. The division found that the defendants willfully violated the FLSA when they did the following:

• ­­­Paid employees straight-time for hours worked over 40 per week.
• Required employees to work off the clock and did not pay them for all hours worked.
• Required employees to clock in when they started work each workday, but directed them not to clock out when they finished working at the end of each workday.
• Paid employees for a maximum of eight hours each workday, regardless of how many hours employees actually worked each day.
• Failed to pay additional wages to employees who regularly worked more than eight hours each workday, resulting in workweeks longer than forty hours.
• Failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ hours worked and total wages paid.

“The company and its co-managers intentionally denied overtime wages to employees and deprived them of their basic right to the wages they earned for the hard work they provided,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Paula Ruffin, in Mountainside, New Jersey. “We encourage employers to reach out to us and to use the many tools we provide to help them understand their responsibilities under the law. The consequences of non-compliance with federal labor laws can be serious and expensive.”

“The U.S. Department of Labor will hold violators like FTR Electrical and Mechanical Contractors legally accountable to protect law-abiding employers against those who attempt to game the system and gain an unfair competitive advantage,” said Regional Solicitor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York. “We will pursue all appropriate and effective legal remedies, including securing liquidated damages for workers in addition to back wages.”

In addition to requiring payment of the back wages, liquidated damages, penalties and interest, the consent judgement enjoins the defendants from future violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping requirements.

The division’s Northern New Jersey District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Susan Jacobs with the department’s regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis employer assigned home healthcare workers to shifts at two related companies but failed to combine the hours, denying them earned overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week for the same employer.

Under terms of a consent judgment, a federal court ordered Timothy Paul, owner of both Heal at Home LLC and TPS Caregiving LLC – operating as Comfort Keepers – to pay $215,859 in overtime back wages and an additional $216,938 in liquidated damages and interest to 171 workers. In the decision issued, Jan. 20, 2022, Judge Sarah Evans Barker also enjoined the employer from violating the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer violated the FLSA when it issued workers separate checks at “straight time” for hours worked at each facility when it should have combined hours and paid overtime at time and one-half employee’s rate of pay when employees exceeded 40 hours a week.

“When an employer assigns workers to multiple facilities they must combine all hours worked and pay earned overtime. By failing to do so, they deny workers the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “Home healthcare workers provide their clients with skills that are essential to their well-being and dignity. Their employers have an obligation to compensate these workers all their hard-earned wages.”

For more information the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The Wage and Hour Division can answer calls 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.

United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana

No. 1:21-cv-02160-SEB-TAB