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.

PHILADELPHIA – By one industry study’s account, more than 290 million cars, trucks, SUVs and vans will be roaming America’s roads in 2022, making the people who maintain and repair these vehicles essential to the nation’s economic stability and growth. Yet, after hundreds of investigations in the auto repair industry in fiscal year 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor has found employers shortchanged thousands of these workers nationwide.

Specifically, the department’s Wage and Hour Division carried out 546 investigations in fiscal year 2021, which recovered more than $4.3 million for 3,564 workers, up from fiscal year 2020 when 442 investigations led to the recovery of $2.9 million for 2,465 workers.

To help protect workers’ rights to their legally earned wages and assist employers in avoiding compliance issues, the division has scheduled a webinar for the industry’s employers, workers, and associations nationwide on Jan. 13, 2022, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. EST.

Part of the division’s “Essential Workers – Essential Protections” initiative, the nationwide virtual event will review worker protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Representatives from the division’s New Jersey, South Carolina, and Virginia district offices will lead presentations to educate employers and workers, and assist employers with compliance concerns.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to protecting the rights of all workers,” said Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Mark Watson in Philadelphia. “As we continue our pandemic recovery, we must ensure the essential workers who keep us on the road are paid as the law requires in return for the hard work they do. We encourage workers, employers and other stakeholders to attend this event to learn more about federal wage and hour standards.”

Participation is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.

Learn more about low-wage workers, and the division’s investigations in the industries in which they work.

The Wage and Hour Division offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as an Auto Repair and Maintenance Industry Compliance Assistance Toolkit, online videos and confidential calls to their local offices.

Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information. Regardless of immigration status, workers can call the division confidentially with questions and the department can speak to callers in more than 200 languages.

DALLAS – Many home healthcare workers performed their jobs heroically in the face of challenges and risks presented by the global pandemic. Yet, their efforts were undercut by industry employers who failed to pay them for the essential, sometimes life-saving work performed. A recent federal investigation found the operators of two related Garland home care agencies underpaid workers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined Vital Home Health Care Inc. and Comfort Home Health Care Inc. violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements by failing to pay employees for all the hours they worked and failing to pay overtime as required. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping provisions by failing to record all hours employees worked.

Employees were paid straight time for all hours of work, even when they worked over 40 hours in a work week, a violation of federal overtime regulations. Several employees were paid for scheduled hours and not actual hours worked, leading to FLSA minimum wage and overtime violations.

The investigation led the division to recover $1,218,320 in back wages for 202 workers. 

“The importance of home health care workers to the families they serve cannot be overstated. The Wage and Hour Division protects these essential workers and works tirelessly to ensure they are paid all of the wages they have earned,” said Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman. “We are also here to help responsible employers who follow the law and encourage them to reach out to us for confidential compliance assistance. 

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.

SANTA FE, NM – In the nation’s third largest market for fine art, industry employers must meet exacting standards to safeguard and transact their clients’ work. Ironically, a recent federal investigation found the operator of a Santa Fe art delivery service was far less careful when it came to paying all of the wages earned by seven of its drivers.

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Perro Grande Management Corp., which operates as Art Delivery Service, denied overtime wages to the drivers by paying them either a day rate or per mile, with no additional overtime pay when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The division found, by law, the employer should have paid these drivers overtime, and their failure to do so violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation led the division to recover $32,044 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for the seven drivers.

“Perro Grande Management did not pay overtime and, as a result, are dealing with the costly consequences. Employers are responsible to ensure their pay practices comply with federal wage laws and that workers are paid all of their legally earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Ortiz in Albuquerque. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division to ensure they understand their responsibilities so they may avoid similar violations.”

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.

PETAL, MS – The operator of two Mississippi auto service and repair shops has come into compliance after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation recovered $90,068 in back wages for 33 workers and determined the employer failed to pay them overtime as the law requires.

Investigators found that Paul’s Discount Glass Inc. in Petal and Paul’s Discount Glass & Tire Inc. in Laurel paid auto glass installers and auto mechanics a fixed weekly salary for working 45 hours per week. The employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provision by not including additional overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. In addition, the agency also cited Paul’s Discount for failing to maintain accurate pay records.

“Overtime and other wage violations are all too common among the auto care industry. Employers who fail to comply with the law and pay fair wages wind up hurting the people they depend on most, their employees,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “The Wage and Hour Division will continue to hold all employers accountable when they fail to uphold their obligations to their workers. We are also available to assist any employer who has questions or needs assistance meeting their obligations to their employees.”

The Wage and Hour Division offers additional information, including free resources. The division’s Northeast and Southeast regions will host a webinar, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m. to educate the auto care industry of essential protections for workers. Register for the webinar here.

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.

BELLEVUE, WA – A federal investigation has uncovered overtime pay violations at a Bellevue restaurant that state labor investigators in Washington cited in 2020 for underpaying workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found The Roll Pod failed to pay workers overtime rates when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek, and knowingly disregarded the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer attempted to evade overtime requirements by paying workers less than they were legally due in the form of a “bonus” when they worked over 40 hours. 

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $67,699 in back wages found due and an equal amount in liquidated damages for a total of $135,399 for 23 workers. The willful nature of the violations also led to an assessment $1,450 in civil money penalties.

The division’s action follows a 2020 state investigation of The Roll Pod’s pay practices that resulted in state investigators recovering $13,121 in overtime wages back for two of the restaurant’s employees.

“Many restaurant industry employers shortchange vulnerable workers, depriving them of their full earnings and making it difficult for them to care for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “Employers who evade the law, exploit workers and cheat their competitors will be held accountable and face costly consequences for their actions.”

Since 2016, the Wage and Hour Division has conducted more than 2,650 investigations in the drinking and eating establishments industry in the Western Region, recovering $24 million in back wages for more than 15,300 employees.

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 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.

SUGAR HILL, GA – A Sugar Hill landscape company violated requirements of the federal H-2A temporary agricultural worker programs related to hours, wages, transportation costs and work assignments, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor determined.

Following the investigation and subsequent lawsuit by the Solicitor of Labor, the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges ordered Resendiz Pine Straw LLC to pay $136,971 in back wages to 110 workers, and affirmed the assessment of a $39,016 civil money penalty due to the nature of the violations. The order also debars Resendiz from participating in the H-2A program for three years.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer – operating as Resendiz Pine Straw LLC and Tobacco – misrepresented the work location of the employees in the H-2A application and sent some employees nearly 600 miles away to do farm work in Arcadia, Florida, when there was not enough work in Sugar Hill. By doing so, the employer engaged in cost-shifting and failed to provide workers at least three-quarters of the hours of work stated in the original job offer. Resendiz failed to uphold the terms of the H-2A contract regarding pay, duties and housing.   

The division also found Resendiz did not reimburse workers for all their transportation costs as the law requires, failed to provide them with copies of their contracts and deducted time for breaks and lunches illegally. These deductions resulted in underpayment of wages.

“The H-2A visa program allows agricultural employers to hire temporary workers to address labor shortages.  These H-2A workers keep food on our tables, allow agricultural employers to stay in business, and help our communities thrive,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “The hard work done by these men and women is vital to food production and the agricultural community. We encourage any employer with questions about pay practices, hours of work or any of our H visa programs to contact us for guidance.”

H-2A programs govern labor standards for temporary, nonimmigrant workers who come to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. Learn more about the H-2A program and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

Read this news release En Español.