Employer:   Walker White Inc.

Employer address:    7402 Fairfield Road, Columbia, SC 29203

Investigation findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that Walker White Inc. – a subcontractor working on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ construction project at Fort Jackson – wrongly classified apprentices as laborers. In doing so, the employer did not pay the required prevailing wage rates, including the basic hourly rate and fringe benefits, in violation of the Davis-Bacon Act. Investigators also found the employer failed to pay overtime rates of time-and-one-half an employee’s basic rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

Recoveries: $44,816 in back wages for 12 employees.

Quote: “Contractors and subcontractors working on government projects using taxpayer dollars, grants or other funding, have to understand they must meet high standards and meet certain obligations,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Our investigation found that Walker White Inc. was paying workers with specialized pipefitting skills less than generalists that did not possess the same special set of skills.”

“The department is committed to ensuring employees are paid their rightfully earned wages at the legally required wage rate. Employers can find government contract compliance assistance information online, or can reach out to our experts directly with questions,” Benefiel added. 

Background: J. Kokolakis Contracting Inc. subcontracted Walker White Inc. to perform plumbing and HVAC work as part of its contract with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

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 and employers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish. 

The Davis-Bacon Act applies to each federal government or District of Columbia contract in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings or public works.  It requires that contractors and subcontractors pay their laborers and mechanics employed under such contracts no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area. Learn more about the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

FORT WAYNE, IN – A federal lawsuit has recovered $178,000 in back wages, damages and penalties from Hall Drive-Ins Inc., operator of 10 Fort Wayne-area restaurants, to resolve U.S. Department of Labor litigation filed in 2023 in light of the employers’ violations of tip-pool requirements in the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

A consent judgment and order entered in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in Fort Wayne on September 4, 2024, requires The Factory Restaurant and Luke Hall to pay 28 employees $74,626 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 28 employees and $28,748 in civil money penalties assessed by the department for the employer's violations. 

As part of the judgment, the employer has trained all managers – including those working at Hall Drive-Ins’ other restaurants – in federal wage laws related to the restaurant industry. The Factory Restaurant will also provide employees with fact sheets on their FLSA rights that detail specific wage laws for restaurant workers. 

The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Hall applied the federal tip credit, which allows him to pay servers hourly cash wages of $2.13 or $2.65 and rely on customers’ tips to make up the remainder of the employer’s minimum wage obligations. However, the employers invalidated the credit by operating an illegal tip pool for about a year by requiring servers to contribute a percentage of their tips to non-tipped kitchen staff and failing to tell servers they applied the federal tip credit. 

The department filed a lawsuit in July 2023 in federal court alleging the employers violated the FLSA by operating an illegal tip pool and failing to maintain accurate wage records. The suit also alleged Luke Hall and The Factory Restaurant failed to pay servers the federal minimum wage because they deducted the cost of some servers’ mandatory uniforms and required servers to do unpaid pre-shift work 30 minutes before the restaurant opened and prevented them from clocking in until their first customer arrived. 

“The specific rules for the use of tip pools mandate that restaurant employers using the federal tip credit can only legally include employees who customarily and regularly receive tips in mandatory tip pools,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis. “The court’s action helps the U.S. Department of Labor restore these workers their rightfully earned wages after The Factory Restaurant and Luke Hall refused to pay them even though the Wage and Hour Division’s investigation led them to change their business practices immediately to comply with the law.”

“The resolution of this court case should remind employers that employees must be paid for all work they do, even if they aren’t clocked in,” added Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Z. Heri in Chicago. “This case’s outcome shows how the department fights for workers and holds employers accountable to federal law.” 

The department’s Restaurant Employment Toolkit explains wage laws for the industry.

One of 10 food service establishments owned by Hall Drive-Ins Inc., The Factory Restaurant was founded in 1972 and today is part of a restaurant enterprise founded by Don Hall that includes The Deck, The Gas House, Hall’s Hollywood, Takaoka of Japan, The Tavern and Triangle Park in Fort Wayne, Hall’s Prime Rib Restaurant in East State Village, and Tap Haus and Hall’s Commissary in New Haven. Only The Factory Restaurant was a defendant in the department’s lawsuit.

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

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

DOL v. Hall Drive-Ins Inc. d/b/a Factory Restaurant, Luke Hall

Civil Action No.: 1:23-cv-211-GSL

Employer name:              JRM Enterprises Inc., operating as JRM Landscape & Design 

Investigation site:           8177 Carder Court 

                                                   Littleton, CO 80125

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found JRM Landscape & Design paid 21 workers straight time for all hours worked, including those exceeding 40 hours per workweek. Federal law requires that workers receive time and one-half their regular rate of pay for any hours worked beyond  40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain proper payroll records. These actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Back wages recovered:        $45,537 in back wages

Damages recovered:             $45,537 in liquidated damages                                 

Quote: “Employers must comply with federal law and pay workers the overtime wages they are rightfully owed,” said Wage and Hour District Director David Skinner in Denver. “Employers have an obligation to understand the law. Employers and workers who need help understanding the law should contact Wage and Hour Division.”

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

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

Employer name:                     Solid Care Home Health Inc.

Investigation site:                  1500 E Belt Line Road, Suite 200

                                                          Carrolton, TX 75006

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Solid Care Home Health paid 28 non-exempt employees straight time for hours over 40 worked in a workweek, when time and one-half pay was required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The home healthcare provider also failed to keep proper timekeeping and personnel records.

 Back wages recovered:         $70,631 in back wages

                                                           $70,631 in liquidated damages

Quote: “Home healthcare employees are among the nation’s hardest-working, lowest-paid workers and their employers must pay them all of their earned wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “Employers should review their payroll practices to avoid compliance issues and the costly consequences of violating the law and contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions.”

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

LEBANON, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a summary judgment in federal court in its effort to recover more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 193 employees of a Pennsylvania home care agency and its owner, which failed to pay workers required minimum and overtime wages.

In response to the department’s motion for summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania entered a July 31, 2024, judgment requiring WiCare Home Care Agency LLC in Lebanon and owner Luis Hernandez to pay $529,770 in back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. 

“Care industry workers provide support to people who depend on them for essential, quality-of-life services and they deserve to be paid fully for their hard work and dedication,” explained Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Wage violations are all-too-common in the healthcare industry and we are determined to root out offenders and hold them accountable for the financial harm they cause their employees.”  

The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found WiCare did not pay the required overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division also determined the home health care agency did not pay some employees for all hours worked, and paid some employees less than $7.25 per hour, the current federal minimum wage. Investigators also learned WiCare failed to maintain accurate time records, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The Department of Labor will use all of its resources, including litigation if needed, to send a clear message to employers that willfully deny employees all of their hard-earned wages,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Defying federal regulations that protect workers’ rights is a serious mistake with costly consequences.” 

Based in Lebanon, WiCare Home Care Agency LLC provides in-home care services, such as companionship, personal care, homemaking and daily living support to residents in Adams, Berks, Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Northampton, Perry, Schuykill and York counties. 

Learn more about protections for care workers and the responsibility of employers to comply with federal minimum wage and overtime laws.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the Wage and Hour Division enforces, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.

BUFFALO, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $375,649 in back wages and liquidated damages for 806 current and former employees of nursing homes in upstate New York that denied them overtime pay in violation of federal law.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Hurlbut Health Consulting LLC – doing business as Hurlbut Care and Hurlbut Care Communities – violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when it failed to pay workers time-and-one-half rates for hours over 40 in a workweek. 

Specifically, the investigation found Hurlbut failed to combine hours worked when employees, including certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and some non-nursing employees, worked at multiple locations in a week. The employer also miscalculated the weighted average when paying overtime and failed to include bonuses and shift differentials in calculating employees’ required rates of pay. 

“Nursing home employees, including nurses and nursing assistants, provide essential care for patients that helps maintain their dignity and support their ongoing needs. They absolutely deserve the wages they have rightfully earned for their hard work and dedication,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Milazzo in Albany, New York. “Despite previous experience and knowledge of the law’s requirements, Hurlbut Health Consulting has allowed new violations to occur, resulting in costly consequences.”

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, Hurlbut has paid $69,519 in civil money penalties to the department for their willful and repeated violations. The division identified similar violations in previous investigations of this employer.

The back wages and liquidated damages cover affected former and current workers in Rochester at Brightonian Nursing & Rehabilitation, Hamilton Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation, The Hurlbut, Latta Road Nursing Home East, Latta Road Nursing Home West, The Shore Winds Nursing Home and Woodside Manor Nursing Home; in Avon at Avon Nursing & Rehabilitation; in Hornell at Hornell Gardens; in Livonia at Conesus Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation; in Newark at Newark Manor; in Penfield at Penfield Place Nursing & Rehabilitation; and in Waterloo at Seneca Nursing and Rehabilitation. 

Headquartered in Rochester, Hurlbut Health Consulting LLC was founded in 2010 and operates skilled nursing home facilities in Livingston, Monroe, Seneca, Steuben and Wayne counties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $31.7 million in back wages for more than 24,000 workers in the healthcare industry nationwide. The Wage and Hour Division offers resources for health care workers and employers on its website. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the Workers Owed Wages search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of their immigration status. Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $450,000 from a Honolulu air cargo carrier that shortchanged 250 employees of their full pay and benefits while fulfilling a $113 million U.S. Postal Service contract to move mail between airports in Hawaii.

The recovery follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of Rhoades Aviation Inc., operating as TransAir, that determined the employer recklessly disregarded requirements in the Service Contract Act that sets prevailing wages and fringe benefits that employers under federal contract must pay.

 Specifically, division investigators found TransAir violated federal regulations by doing the following:

• Paying incorrect and lower prevailing wage rates to 208 material handling laborers for whom the division recovered $268,839 in back wages.
• Not disbursing correct health and welfare benefits, holiday and vacation pay to 208 workers for whom the division recovered $156,106 in fringe benefits.
• Failing to pay correct overtime wages to 55 workers for whom the division recovered $12,650 in overtime wages and $12,625 in liquidated damages.

“Our investigation found TransAir failed to comply with federal service contract regulations regarding worker compensation,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “The U.S. Postal Service’s federal contract obligated TransAir to not only comply with standards for mail delivery but also for standards that deliver the lawful payment and benefits to workers performing those labor-intensive services.”   

Investigators also determined TransAir unlawfully made 30-minute deductions for lunch breaks not taken, causing the employer to underreport and underpay overtime hours, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

 Since 1982, Rhoades Aviation Inc.’s fleet of TransAir aircraft has provided air cargo service and charters within the state of Hawaii to deliver packages, mail, animals, oversized baggage, emergency equipment and other items. In addition to its USPS contract, the company fulfills contracts with UPS, FedEx and Pacific Air.

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

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

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $103,665 in back wages for 38 workers employed by a Southlake landscaping company that misclassified them as independent contractors and, by doing so, denied them overtime pay.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act included failing to pay overtime at time and one-half an employee’s rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek and not keeping accurate records.

“Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a serious problem that deprives workers of their hard-earned wages, benefits and protections,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping has learned there are costly consequences for their violations. We encourage all employers to use our online tools or contact us to better understand laws governing their pay practices.”

Based in Southlake, J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping provides lawn maintenance, landscaping, tree and bush trimming, flower and mulch installation, sod installation, leaf cleanup and irrigation repair services. 

Workers can use the Wage and Hour Division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to check if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the division confidentially for help at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  

Employer:      

Passavant Memorial Homes                                                                                                                                                                                                             163 Thorn Hill Road                                                                                                                                                                                                       Warrendale, PA 15086

Investigation findings: 

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found that residential homes operator Passavant Memorial Homes failed to include non-discretionary bonuses when calculating overtime wage rates for 504 employees. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, these bonuses must be included when computing overtime wages.

Back wages and damages recovered:         

$163,418 in back wages for 504 employees.                                                                                                                                                                   $163,418 in liquidated damages for 504 employees. 

Quote: 

“Passavant Memorial Homes workers deliver essential care and enable people in need to live with dignity. Yet, too often, they are shortchanged their hard-earned wages by employers that don’t include non-discretionary bonus payments in overtime calculations,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh. “We’re committed to protecting these workers and ensuring they get their full pay.” 

Background: 

Founded in 1895, Passavant Memorial Homes operates 140 residential homes that offer direct care and support services to individuals with intellectual disabilities throughout western Pennsylvania, as well as provides support and companion care in personal residences.

Learn about wage protections for care workers and the Wage and Hour Division.

Ed. Note: On Sept. 16, 2024, the quote from Wage and Hour District Director David An was revised.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court judgment requiring 15 gas stations - operating under brands such as BP, Mobil and Sunoco - in Bronx, Nassau and Suffolk counties and their owner and president to pay more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to more than 100 current and former employees in response to a federal investigation. 

In March 2022, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York based on an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division which found that from 2015 through 2018 businesses owned by Jagjit Singh failed to pay employees overtime, paid some less than minimum wage and did not keep wage records as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Specifically, the division found the employer violated federal law by doing the following:

• Withholding overtime pay from employees who often worked well over 40 hours per week, including some who exceeded 85 hours per week; instead, paying straight-time rates when the required overtime rates were owed.
• Failing to pay some employees at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
• Not maintaining accurate or complete records of wages, hours and other employment conditions. Some stations had no records before 2017 or incomplete records. 

“The Department of Labor alleged in its complaint that as an owner of 15 gas stations, Jagjit Singh willfully denied over one hundred employees their hard-earned wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director David An in Westbury, New York. “The back wages recovered, and damages and penalties assessed, send a clear signal to all employers that intentionally defying federal law will have costly consequences.”

In addition to requiring Singh and his businesses to pay $549,673 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the judgment directs the employers to pay $75,655 in civil money penalties to the department for the willful nature of the violations. View the consent judgment.

“The U.S. Department of Labor does not hesitate to pursue all actions, including litigation, to protect workers whose employers fail to fulfill their legal obligations,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York. “The department has zero tolerance for employers who choose to disregard federal wage requirements.”

The division’s Long Island District Office in Westbury conducted the investigation. Trial attorneys Jason Glick and Jasmine Wade of the regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case.

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 offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of their immigration status. Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.