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

MIRAMAR BEACH, FL – A federal investigation has recovered $47,088 for 30 employees from the operator of a Miramar Beach restaurant who denied them their rightfully earned overtime wages. 

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found MTLE LLC, operating as Mezcal Mexican Grill, violated the overtime and recordkeeping regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. They determined the employer:

• Failed to pay time-and-one-half the employee’s rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. The employer paid straight-time rates for all hours of work. Bartenders and servers were paid only their straight-time cash wage for all hours, including those in excess of 40 in a workweek.  
• Failed to maintain complete time records and addresses of workers.

Mezcal Mexican Grill leased workers from Good Stand, a staffing company that paid the workers, and investigators determined that the workers were jointly employed by Good Stand and Mezcal Mexican Grill. 

“Employers who use staffing agencies to provide workers and then continue to control and manage them are responsible for ensuring they are paid as the law requires,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “This case should remind other restaurant employers to review their pay practices and employment relationships. We encourage employers, workers and staffing companies to contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions.”

The Wage and Hour Division provides multiple tools, including a Restaurant Compliance Assistance Toolkit, to help employers understand their responsibilities under 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.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Wage and Hour Division is seeking to add 100 investigators to its team to support its enforcement efforts including the protection of workers’ wages, migrant and seasonal workers, rights to family and medical leave and prevailing wage requirements for workers on federal contracts.

The Wage and Hour Division is one of the nation’s most essential labor law enforcement agencies, responsible for enforcing some of the most comprehensive labor laws affecting more than 148 million workers. The cornerstone of its enforcement team, investigators’ responsibilities include the following:

• Conducting investigations to determine if employers are paying workers and affording them their rights as the law requires.
• Helping ensure that law-abiding employers are not undercut by employers who violate the law.
• Promoting compliance through outreach and public education initiatives.
• Supporting efforts to combat worker retaliation and worker misclassification as independent contractors.

“Adding 100 investigators to our team is an important step in the right direction,” said Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “We anticipate significantly more hiring activity later in fiscal year 2022. While appropriations will determine our course of action, we are optimistic we will be able to bring new talented professionals onboard to expand our diverse team.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division collected $230 million in wages owed to 190,000 workers. Division representatives also conducted 4,700 outreach events to educate employers and workers alike about their workplace rights and responsibilities.

Search “usajobs.gov” to learn more about the available Wage and Hour Division positions, and to apply.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

SEATTLE – A federal investigation recovered $96,973 in back wages and liquidated damages from the operator of 11 frozen yogurt shops in Washington and Oregon who allowed store managers to take a portion of workers’ tips illegally, and failed to pay some workers overtime wages when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also did not keep an accurate record of hours worked.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found multiple violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by BroYo LLC – operator of nine Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt franchises in Washington and two in Oregon, and recovered back wages and damages for 330 workers.

The division also determined the employer violated the FLSA’s child labor regulations at four Washington locations by allowing several minors under 18 to operate trash compactors.

Given the nature of the violations, the division assessed $19,736 in civil money penalties.

“Food service workers frequently receive low wages and few benefits. BroYo LLC made the jobs of hundreds of food service workers less gainful when they allowed managers to illegally take tips from employees who earned them and denied some workers their overtime pay,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “This employer’s disregard for federal labor laws has had costly consequences. We encourage other food service employers to review their pay practices to prevent violations and contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

The following Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt locations were included in the investigation:

Started in suburban Los Angeles in 2007, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is the world’s largest self-serve, frozen yogurt franchise with approximately 540 locations in the U.S. and abroad.

Since 2016, the Wage and Hour Division has conducted more than 25,000 investigations of food service establishments, recovering more than $195 million in back wages for more than 195,000 workers throughout the nation. The division provides restaurant employers a compliance assistance toolkit and encourages routine self-assessment of pay practices.

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. You may also call toll-free 1-866-4US-WAGE to speak directly and confidentially to a trained Wage and Hour Division professional. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status, and can communicate with workers in more than 200 languages.  

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $117,718 in back wages and liquidated damages to 33 workers after their employer in Hawaii recklessly denied them overtime wages they earned.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found United Fishing Agency – a seafood trader purchasing and selling seafood to markets and restaurants in Hawaii – failed to include bonuses when calculating the employee’s overtime pay. The employer should have included the bonuses in the overtime wages because they awarded the bonuses to the workers to promote their productivity. Additionally, the employer did not keep accurate payroll records, also a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

The investigation found the employer owed the workers $58,859 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The reckless nature of the violations led the division to assess United Fishing Agency with $14,805 in civil money penalties.

“When employers compute the additional hourly half-time rate due to employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, they must include incentive pay such as certain bonuses, shift pay and on-call pay in those calculations,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “Employers should take advantage of the many educational tools we offer in order to avoid costly violations such as those found in this case.”

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.

NEW YORK – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has entered a consent judgment  ordering a Brooklyn bus and shuttle service to pay $742,500 in back wages and liquidated damages for overtime wages denied to 368 shuttle drivers, following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that Brooklyn-based Trans Express Inc., a subsidiary of National Express Transit Corp. failed to pay overtime wages to employees who picked up and dropped off passengers for Trans Express Inc.’s clients.

The division found Trans Express paid the drivers flat rates ranging from approximately $100 to $190 per day without regard to the number of hours they worked in a day or in a workweek. Employees typically worked 45 to 60 hours per workweek. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay overtime when employees work more than 40 hours in a workweek. The division found Trans Express improperly assumed its employees were not entitled to overtime under FLSA. Investigators also found Trans Express failed to keep adequate and accurate records as the law requires.

“Trans Express failed to pay hundreds of workers all of their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jorge Alvarez in New York. “The company shortchanged these employees and their families, and gained an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors. Now, Trans Express is being held accountable.”

In addition to payment of the back wages and liquidated damages, the court ordered Trans Express to comply with the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping requirements.

“The U.S. Department of Labor vigorously pursued legal action to ensure Trans Express’s employees were properly compensated as required by the law. The department will continue to pursue litigation where employers fail to comply with the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York.

The division’s New York City District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney David Rutenberg of the department’s regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case for the department.

Based in Brooklyn, New York, Trans Express Inc. is a regional transportation firm, specializing in point to point shuttle services.

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.

Walsh v. Trans Express Inc.

Civil Action No. 19-1423-SJ-RER

BOISE – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $221,053 in back wages and liquidated damages for 59 drywall installation workers in Idaho after their employer recklessly denied them overtime wages they earned and then lied to investigators about it.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Intermountain Drywall and Acoustical Inc. of Eagle intentionally underpaid its workers by denying them their rightfully overtime wages earned, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. The employer repeatedly told investigators that the company paid employees overtime wages at time-and-one-half their rates of pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week, as the law requires. Investigators determined the employer’s claims were untrue and that the employer had not paid workers overtime as claimed.

The investigation led to the division’s recovery of $110,526 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for the shortchanged workers. The reckless nature of the violations led the division to assess Intermountain Drywall and Acoustical with $22,560 in civil money penalties. 

“Shortchanging employees who work long, hard hours to provide shelter and safety to so many is unfair and illegal. Then, Intermountain Drywall and Acoustical lied to federal investigators. It’s hard to understand how they thought that would end well,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carrie Aguilar in Portland, Oregon. “In this case, the employer has learned that such actions have significant and costly consequences. We encourage other construction industry employers to avoid making similar mistakes.”

In fiscal year 2021, more than 3,000 Wage and Hour Division investigations recovered more than $36 million in back wages for more than 20,000 construction industry workers.

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.