WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board announced today that the department’s Wage and Hour Division and the NLRB have signed a Memorandum of Understanding strengthening the agencies’ partnership and outlining procedures on information-sharing, joint investigations and enforcement activity, as well as training, education and community outreach.

The agreement is an effort by the agencies to improve the enforcement process of the laws they administer and reaffirms their commitment to ensure the rights and protections of workers. The partnership will help ensure that employers pay workers their rightful wages and that workers can take collective action to improve their working conditions without fear of retaliation.

“Workers across this nation put food on our tables, and keep our families well and our neighborhoods safe. In return, they deserve equity, fair pay and our respect,” said Acting Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “The Wage and Hour Division works tirelessly to ensure workers receive their hard earned wages and job-protected leave without fear of harassment and retaliation. Collaborating with the National Labor Relations Board will expand both of our agencies’ impact and effectiveness in enforcing workplace protections and combatting misclassification, and preventing retaliation against them.”

The division and NLRB’s collaboration will strengthen their interagency relationship by creating mechanisms to share information efficiently and establish a process for referral, joint investigation and cross training of personnel. The agreement will also allow for better enforcement against unlawful pay practices, misclassification of workers as independent contractors and retaliation against workers who exercise their legal rights.

“All too often, workers face adverse action for speaking out about their compensation, whether it is discussing their wages, fighting back against wage theft, or advocating for higher wages. The National Labor Relations Act makes it illegal for employers to interfere with, or retaliate against, workers for taking these actions,” said National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “These issues frequently cut across multiple worker protection agencies, which is why it is so important to work collaboratively to prevent and address them.”

In addition to enhanced enforcement, the agencies will use the partnership to increase the public’s understanding of the laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division and the NLRB through increased community outreach, shared compliance materials, joint presentations and training events. The cooperative agreement will support joint goals protecting workers who exercise their workplace rights and educating employers about their legal responsibilities under federal laws.

Learn more about the Fair Labor Standards Act and other laws enforced by the division or contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Use the division’s free search tool use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Learn more about the National Labor Relations Board or call 1-844-762-6572. For assistance filing a charge, contact your NLRB Regional Office.

HIDDEN HILLS, CA – A Southern California construction company has paid $72,342 in back wages and liquidated damages to 12 workers after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer failed to pay them overtime wages as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The department also assessed $8,460 in penalties for the employer’s willful violations.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Covello Plastering Corp. underpaid their workers by failing to track and pay for work it required before and after their scheduled shifts. The employer violated the FLSA’s overtime requirement by not paying required overtime rates for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The agency also cited the employer for failing to maintain accurate employee records.

“One hour worked should be one hour paid. It’s unjust and illegal to ask residential construction workers to do the hard work of building our homes and then deny them the wages they need to support themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kimchi Bui in Los Angeles. “Too often, we find employers requesting additional work from employees without providing the requisite additional pay.”

This latest investigation is part of the division’s Cross Regional Initiative addressing wage violations in the construction industry. Since 2019, the division has conducted 421 investigations in this industry in California, and recovered more than $6 million in unpaid wages for more than 4,000 workers.

The Wage and Hour 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.

TAMPA, FL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor led to major changes by a Tampa employer in its pay practices that have the potential to affect the lives of more than 2,000 local workers.

The investigation by department’s Wage and Hour Division found HealthPlan Services Inc. – a healthcare benefits management provider – failed to pay employees for time spent setting up their computers and logging in to software applications before the start of their shifts. Additionally, the employer failed to include bonuses in the calculation of overtime pay, which led to the payment of overtime at a rate lower than the law requires.

The department recovered $105,200 in back wages for 92 employees. In addition to paying back wages, HealthPlan Services agreed to correct its pay practices company-wide to avoid future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Failure to count and properly pay for pre-shift work is a common violation of federal labor laws. These unpaid minutes add up and can lead to minimum wage or overtime violations. The law requires that workers to be paid every cent they are due for the work they perform,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “If employers are unsure about federal requirements regarding hours of work or payment of wages, they should contact us for information to avoid violations.”

A subsidiary of Wipro Limited, a global info technology, consulting and business process services company headquartered in Bengaluru, India, HealthPlan Services is an independent provider of sales, benefits administration, retention and technology solutions to the health insurance and managed care industries.

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.

NEW YORK – A federal court in New York has ordered a Long Island pizzeria and its owner to pay $178,000 in back wages, damages and civil money penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employer’s pay practices shortchanged workers when it failed to pay overtime wages.

A consent judgment entered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered Lynbrook Pizza & Pasta Inc., operating as Regina’s Pizzeria and owner Nunzio DiLorenzo to pay $84,160 in back wages and an equal amount of $84,160 in liquidated damages, plus interest, to the affected workers. The court also ordered them to pay $9,679 in civil money penalties assessed by the department due to the violations’ willful nature.

The court’s action follows a Wage and Hour Division investigation that concluded Regina’s Pizzeria and DiLorenzo failed to pay certain employees overtime when they worked in excess of 40 hours per week, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. They also violated the FLSA’s recordkeeping requirements by failing to keep accurate records of work hours and pay rates.

Specifically, the division’s investigation found the employer:

• Paid non-exempt kitchen employees a fixed salary for all hours worked with no additional overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.
• Calculated the overtime rate for their tipped employees based solely on the direct cash wage and not the full minimum wage rate. 
• Rounded weekly wages up or down to the nearest dollar. 
• Created an artificial hourly rate for workers to try to show FLSA compliance.

“Over the past year, the services provided by essential food industry workers have helped us cope with the many challenges we’ve faced. They deserve to be paid every cent of their lawfully earned wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director David An in Westbury, New York. “Too often, employers fail to pay proper overtime to workers and attempt to obscure their actions with incomplete and inadequate records. Other employers should view this investigation’s outcome as a reason to review their own pay practices and avoid the costly consequences of disregard for the law.”

The employer failed to resolve violations subsequent to the investigation leading to litigation by the department’s Office of the Solicitor.

“Failing to pay overtime time wages to workers who are entitled to overtime compensation and then trying to feign compliance is a clear violation of the law,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York City. “The U.S. Department of Labor will take legal action to ensure workers are paid properly and employers who violate the law are held accountable.”

The judgment requires the defendants to notify affected employees about the judgment and their FLSA rights in Spanish and English. It also prohibits the defendants from retaliating against employees and soliciting them to return or “kick back” their wages and damages.

The division’s Long Island District Office conducted the investigation. Trial Attorney Jacob Heyman-Kantor of the New York Regional Office of the Solicitor litigated the case for the department.

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).  A Restaurant Compliance Toolkit is available for employers seeking additional compliance resources.  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.

En Español.

LOUISVILLE, KY – A Fairdale country club operator failed to pay some workers minimum hourly wages, denied overtime pay to other workers, paid incorrect overtime rates to others, and assigned minor-aged workers duties not permitted by law, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that South Park Country Club Inc. violated the minimum wage, overtime and tipped employee regulations, as well as the recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators found the employer:

• Required employees to share tips with managers.
• Computed overtime based on the direct cash wage rather than the full minimum wage.
• Failed to pay overtime to workers paid on a salary basis.
• Failed to include commission payments when computing the overtime rate, which resulted in the employer paying overtime at a lower rate than the law requires.
• Employed multiple 14 and 15-year-olds for more than 3 hours on a school day or more than 8 hours on a Saturday or Sunday during the school year and past 7 p.m. after Labor Day.
• Permitted two 15-year old workers to drive golf carts and load or unload golf bags from golf carts, in violation of the FLSA.

The division recovered $21,507 in back wages for 43 workers to resolve the minimum wage and overtime violations, and assessed South Park Country Club a $6,190 civil penalty for its child labor violations.

“Country clubs exist to provide their members with a relaxing and entertaining experience made possible by hard-working employees who have the right to be paid all of the wages they’ve earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Karen Garnett-Civils in Louisville, Kentucky. “The operators of South Park Country Club not only failed to ensure workers received required minimum and overtime wages, they violated federal child labor laws by allowing minors to work more hours and later than the law permits, and by assigning them duties considered unsafe for young workers.” 

For information about child labor standards, 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, and use its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

APEX, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $33,230 in back wages for five employees working on a federally funded construction project in Fayetteville. Investigators found the employer failed to pay workers all wages earned as required by the Davis Bacon Act.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Apex Plumbing and Heating Inc. – operating as APH – violated federal law when the employer paid employees the prevailing wage for sheet metal workers even though they performed plumbers’ work. The employer paid less than the prevailing wage and benefits than the workers would have earned if paid correctly.

In addition, APH failed to comply with Executive Order 13706, Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, by failing to allow employees to accrue and use paid sick leave. Record keeping violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act were also found.

“Prevailing wage laws on government contracts put competing contractors on equal footing and protect the wages and earned leave of hard-working tradespeople,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “This case should serve as a reminder for other employers that different trades require different wage rates if Davis Bacon regulations apply. When a worker performs different types of work, the employers must record the number of hours worked in each job classification and pay worker the correct prevailing rate for each type of work performed.”

The Wage and Hour Division’s investigation reviewed APH’s pay practices for work conducted work at Fayetteville VA Medical Center in Fayetteville. APH is headquartered in Apex and performs plumbing, heating and ductwork in large-scale residential and commercial developments, military installations and Veterans Affairs facilities across the eastern region of the U.S.

For information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, including compliance assistance toolkits, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or learn more about the Wage and Hour Division on its website, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Callers can receive information confidentially in more than 200 languages.

JACKSON, MS – Federal investigations of six Mississippi fish farms by the U.S. Department of Labor have led to the recovery of $102,176 in back wages for 123 workers and the assessment of $69,122 in civil money penalties.

The violations found by investigators included the failure to reimburse H-2A workers for transportation and subsistence, to reimburse travel-related expenses, to disclose accurate anticipated hours of work and bonus opportunities in the H-2A job order, to pay the required rate of pay for U.S. workers in corresponding employment, and to disclose all of the conditions of employment. They also identified unlawful pay deductions and recordkeeping violations.

The division’s investigations found the following employers owed back wages and assessed civil money penalties as follows:

“The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to ensure all agricultural workers, both the H-2A and corresponding U.S. workers, are paid the wages they legally earned and are provided safe working, housing and transportation conditions,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey L. Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “These workers are a diverse group of women and men who can be particularly vulnerable to wage and labor abuses. The Wage and Hour Division is here to help both employees and employers understand federal laws. We encourage all stakeholders to take advantage of the free resources available.”

The division is engaged in ongoing education, outreach and enforcement efforts to ensure Mississippi farms operate within federal law. Wage and Hour Division staff are also working with stakeholders to promote better understanding of the laws governing their industry, and offering compliance assistance for those seeking to avoid costly violations.

The division offers multiple compliance assistance resources, including an agriculture compliance assistance toolkit, with information employers need to comply with laws. 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. Call the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the website to learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigation found the operator of two Hawaii restaurants denied workers overtime wages, and failed to record the hours of work for its kitchen cooks accurately, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Division investigators found Himalayan Kitchen LLC – operator of Himalayan Kitchen restaurants in Honolulu and in Kailua – did not pay salaried cooks the legally required overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. On average, the cooks worked 10 and a half hours per day. Payroll records also revealed that the employer paid one cook below federal minimum wage in certain weeks.

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $40,000 in back wages plus another $40,000 in liquidated damages for five workers, and the assessment of $1,000 in civil money penalties against the employer.

“By law, employers must pay salaried cooks additional overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “Through this investigation, Himalayan Kitchen has learned that disregard for federal labor laws can have costly consequences. Other restaurant industry employers would be wise to review their own pay practices to prevent violations and take advantage of the many tools we offer to assist them in understanding the law.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division found more than $34.7 million in wages owed to food service workers nationwide, part of more than $230 million in back wages owed to workers nationwide. In all, division investigations helped more than 190,000 workers.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the division enforces, 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.

BOSTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has ordered a Massachusetts contractor to pay $438,000 in back wages to 250 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act after the court had previously ordered the contractor to pay punitive damages for unlawful retaliation under the FLSA. Woburn-based JKA Construction Inc. and owners Clesio Da Silva, Fabio Da Costa, Rafael De Paula and Josias De Paula must also pay $64,750 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve willful violations of the FLSA’s overtime requirements.

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found that, between August 2017 and November 2020, the defendants did not pay overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Instead, they misclassified many of their employees as independent contractors and, in some cases, used a separate company to pay employees’ overtime hours at straight time rates. The defendants also failed to keep accurate and adequate records of compensation paid to their employees.

In addition to payment of the wages and penalties, the consent judgment requires the defendants to comply with the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions and cooperate with Wage and Hour Division investigations. The consent judgment also prohibits them from demanding that employees return or ‘kick back” any part of the wages and from accepting the return of any amounts due to employees.

“Employees have the right under the Fair Labor Standards Act to request the wages they have earned, contact the Wage and Hour Division and cooperate in its investigations. There is no need to work and live in fear of your employer,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “These violations can be prevented if employees know their rights and employers know their responsibilities under the law. We encourage them to contact us for information and assistance.”

During its investigation, the division learned that JKA Construction Inc. had threatened and retaliated against an employee who requested to be paid the FLSA overtime premium. In April 2021, the department obtained a default judgment enjoining JKA Construction from retaliating against employees who exercise their FLSA rights or cooperate with division investigations and ordering the company to pay $70,000 in punitive damages to an employee against whom it retaliated. The department previously obtained a temporary restraining order in the matter in October 2020.

“Wage theft and retaliation are illegal and reprehensible. When U.S. Department of Labor investigations uncover such behavior, the Office of the Solicitor will litigate aggressively to ensure that employees receive all the wages they have earned and are not subjected to threats and retaliation by their employers,” said regional Solicitor of Labor Maia Fisher in Boston.

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.

Read the release en Español.

Read the release in Tradução.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will present virtual compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.” The Federal Contract Minimum Wage Executive Order applies across the country and its territories and does the following:

• Increases the hourly minimum wage for workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts to $15 beginning Jan. 30, 2022.
• Continues to index the federal contract minimum wage in future years to inflation.
• Eliminates the tipped minimum wage for federal contract employees by 2024.
• Ensures a $15 minimum wage for workers with disabilities performing work on, or in connection with, covered contracts.
• Restores minimum wage protections to outfitters and guides operating on federal lands.

The training is the latest in the division’s ongoing efforts to increase awareness and improve compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements among employers performing work on federal construction or service contracts. The seminar will include video training on the order’s requirements that participants may view at their convenience followed by an interactive webinar with a live Q&A session. Alternatively, the division will offer this interactive webinar on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, 2022, and participants may register for either date.

“The Federal Contract Minimum Wage Executive Order is good for the economy and makes progress towards reversing decades of income inequality,” said Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “This rule increases federal contracting efficiency through a boost in worker productivity, reduces turnover and absenteeism, and decreases training and supervisory costs. The increased earnings growth resulting from this Executive Order will help essential federal contract workers now and in the future.  

Seminar attendance is free. Register for the seminar.

For more information on Executive Order 14026, the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and other federal wage laws related to government contracts administered by the division, please call the department’s toll-free helpline at 1-866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit the Wage and Hour Division.