NEW YORK – Three Bellport concrete supply and construction companies and their owner, who schemed for three years to deny overtime pay to 99 laborers, have been ordered to pay the workers a total of $987,591 in back wages and liquidated damages, plus interest, in a consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The court’s action follows a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the pay practices of Macedo Construction Inc., Macedo Contracting Services Inc., Odecam Concrete Supply Corp. and Manuel Macedo. The companies and their owner must also pay $53,249 in civil money penalties and interest to the department for their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Manuel Macedo and his companies failed to combine the hours laborers worked at the commonly owned businesses. The employer paid them with multiple checks from the three companies to evade overtime requirements. Each separate check showed the employees worked less than 40 hours per workweek when they actually worked a combined total of up to 48 hours per week. In addition, they did not pay the employees for time spent traveling from the companies’ work yards to jobsites, and failed to make, keep and retain accurate records of the employees’ work hours and pay rates.

“The scheme by Macedo Construction Inc., Macedo Contracting Services Inc., Odecam Concrete Supply Corp. and Manuel Macedo deprived their employees of nearly $491,000 in hard-earned wages over three years. Now in addition to the back wages, the employer must pay these workers an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus interest,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director David An in Westbury, New York. “We encourage other employers to consider this investigation’s outcome, review their own pay practices and contact the Wage and Hour Division to avoid similar violations. The consequences of non-compliance with federal labor laws can be serious and expensive.”

“The U.S. Department of Labor does not tolerate wage theft, which shortchanges workers and puts law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage. We will pursue all appropriate and effective legal remedies, including securing liquidated damages for workers in addition to back wages,” said Regional Solicitor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York.

In addition to requiring payment of the back wages, liquidated damages, fines and interest, the consent judgment enjoins Manuel Macedo and the three companies from future violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping requirements, retaliating against employees who exercise their FLSA rights and soliciting employees to return or “kick back” the wages, damages and interest awarded to them. They must also provide employees with notices of their rights under the FLSA in English and Spanish.

The division’s Long Island District Office conducted the original investigation. The department’s regional Office of the Solicitor in New York provided legal assistance for the division.

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

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

En Español.

DALLAS – An information technology services company in Irving hired a system analyst under the H-1B visa program, then failed to use and pay the worker the required prevailing wage for non-productive time – an illegal practice known as “benching” – a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Cigniti Technologies Inc. benched the employee illegally over a 15 month period, and failed to pay the full, pro-rated amount of the worker’s prevailing wage for periods of non-productive work. By doing so, the employer violated the requirements of the federal H-1B visa program.

The investigation by the division’s New Orleans District Office led to the recovery of $64,244 in wages owed to the employee.

“Employers who hire workers under the H-1B visa program must comply with all legal requirements, which are clearly detailed in the program’s application process,” said Wage and Hour District Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division for information about their obligations to avoid violations.”

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, an H-1B presentation and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices.

A subsidiary of Cigniti Technologies Limited in India, Cigniti Technologies Inc. provides staffing services and information technology support, including software development, programming analysis and engineering services. The company employs U.S. and H-1B workers throughout the U.S. 

For more information about H-1B visa, 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. 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.

HONOLULU – A federal court has affirmed the findings of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that determined the owner of three Hawaii restaurants denied workers overtime and minimum wages, and discarded time records in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In its action, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii ordered Sujin Tomita and her restaurants Sura Hawaii I and Than Q Pocha in Honolulu, and Sura Hawaii II in Kapolei, to pay of $210,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 71 workers, and $10,000 in civil money penalties for willfully violating the law.

The outcome follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Tomita and her restaurants willfully paid workers less than federal minimum wage and no overtime for hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek. The division also found the employer discarded time records each month.

Many of the workers – predominantly from Chuuk, one of the four Federated States of Micronesia – worked an average of 46 hours per week. Investigators also found that Sura Hawaii I paid servers and other workers a flat salary for all hours worked without considering whether such salary amounted to at least the required federal minimum wage.  

“Paying a flat salary for all hours worked does not allow an employer to ignore its legal obligation to pay frontline staff overtime wages when they work more 40 hours in a workweek.” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “In this case, the employer willfully shortchanged workers of hard-earned wages. The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers get paid all the wages they have legally earned. We encourage other employers in this industry to use the results of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices and to avoid violations like those found in this case.”

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

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the upcoming launch of an online portal through which federal government contractors and subcontractors will certify compliance with annual Affirmative Action Program requirements.

Led by the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface, or the Contractor Portal, provides a method for covered federal contractors to certify, on an annual basis, whether they have developed and maintained affirmative action programs for each establishment or functional unit, as applicable. In addition, the Contractor Portal will provide a secure method for contractors scheduled for compliance evaluations to submit to OFCCP their Affirmative Action Program(s).

“The Contractor Portal will provide federal contractors with a secure method of certifying compliance with their affirmative action program requirements,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Jenny R. Yang.  “OFCCP’s new online portal provides a mechanism to promote greater contractor attention to removing barriers to opportunity and evaluating employment practices.”

Affirmative action requirements are intended to ensure that applicants and employees of federal contractors have equal employment opportunity without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. Contractors within OFCCP’s jurisdiction that meet certain contract dollar and employee thresholds are required to develop and maintain Affirmative Action Programs and will be required to annually certify compliance. Covered federal contractors and subcontractors may register on the Contractor Portal beginning Feb. 1, 2022. The portal’s certification features will be available beginning on March 31, 2022, and existing contractors will be required to certify their compliance by June 30, 2022. Additional information on the Contractor Portal, including Frequently Asked Questions, can be found on OFCCP’s Contractor Portal Landing Page.

Learn more about OFCCP.

COLUMBIA, SC – The operator of five Charleston-area Marco’s Pizza locations paid $101,027 in civil penalties after federal investigators found the employer endangered minor-aged workers by allowing them to perform prohibited or hazardous duties and employed a 17-year-old worker illegally as a delivery driver.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Roshan Operations LLC allowed 14- and 15-year-old employees to work in prohibited baking activities. In addition, the employer allowed minors between the ages of 14 and 17 to operate a pizza dough mixer – a prohibited hazardous occupation under federal law – and employed an underage delivery driver. In addition, Roshan Operations scheduled 14- and-15-year-old employees to work after 7 p.m., more than 3 hours on a school day and more than 18 hours in a school week – all violations of the federal work hour standards.

To resolve the child labor violations found by the division’s investigators, Marco’s Pizza restaurants paid $101,027 in civil money penalties.

“Teens bring value to workplaces, but achieving balance with needs typical of their age group is essential,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “Child labor laws are intended to ensure young workers obtain valuable experience safely and without interfering with their education. With kids back in school and the holiday season upon us, restaurant employers should review child labor laws and contact the Wage and Hour Division if they have questions.”

In addition to the child labor violations, Roshan Operations violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. Investigators determined the employer did not combine work hours when employees worked in multiple locations in the same workweek. By doing so, Roshan paid straight time for all hours to workers who worked more than 40 hours a week at all locations combined. The employer also failed to include certain bonuses into one worker’s overtime pay as required and, as a result, paid the employee a lower overtime rate than required by law.

The investigation led the division to recover $5,425 in back wages for 26 workers.

Based in Summerville, Roshan Operations LLC operates Marco’s Pizza restaurants in Summerville, and one each in Ladson and Charleston.

For more 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’s YouthRules! information, which promotes positive and safe work experiences for teens and provides guidelines about protections for young workers to youth, parents, employers and educators. If you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division, search our Workers Owed Wages database for information on submitting a claim.  

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Sixty-one workers of a Fayetteville motorcycle repair and sales company received wages owed to them after the U.S. Department of Labor found their employer’s pay practices denied them overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In its investigation, the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Flip My Cycle Inc. failed to keep accurate records and pay proper overtime. When employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, the employer attempted to avoid overtime requirements by labeling those hours as bonuses, miscellaneous pay or commissions. The employer paid only straight-time pay for the overtime hours, an FLSA violation. The employer also failed to include certain performance bonuses in the computation of overtime pay. By law, employers must pay overtime wages – in most cases – for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

The division’s investigation led to the recovery of $48,315 in back wages and $48,315 in liquidated damages for 61 workers. 

“Employers who fail to pay workers all their hard-earned wages make it harder for workers to make ends meet, and the employer gains an unfair advantage over their competitors who comply with the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Employers should review their pay practices and contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions to avoid violations like those in this case.”

Learn more about the Fair Labor Standards Act and other laws enforced by the division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The Wage and Hour Division offers additional information, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Read this news release En Español. 

LANCASTER, TX – With a sharpening focus on the impact of “supply chains” on the timely delivery of goods, many Americans now understand that their ability to obtain goods and services depends on the hard work of logistics industry workers.

At a Lancaster distribution center, 31 logistics workers recently discovered their employer wrongly claimed they were not entitled to overtime pay, leading to a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation and the recovery of $127,567 in overtime back wages due to the workers.

Federal investigators found Boone Logistics Services LLC – a Florida-based provider of logistics solutions – wrongly claimed the 31 “yard hostlers” were not entitled to overtime due to the nature of their work. He paid these employees only their straight time pay even when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Yard hostlers are typically used to move truck trailers and fill or empty containers around work sites, and in and out of loading docks. 

“Too often, logistics industry workers – particularly those who work in the yard – are illegally denied the overtime they are due,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “Boone Logistics has a responsibility to comply with the law and ensure that workers are paid all of their hard-earned wages. We encourage all employers in the industry to review their pay practices to be certain they comply with federal requirements.”

Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Boone Logistics Services LLC has operations in eight states and provides trailer yard management services to manufacturing and distribution centers nationwide. Its services include trailer spotting, shuttling, gate management and trailer leasing. 

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 Northern District of New York has entered a consent judgment ordering a Syracuse gas station and convenience store and a Jamesville pizzeria and convenience store and their owner to pay $56,364 in back wages and an equal amount of $56,364 in liquidated damages to 12 employees denied overtime wages.

The court’s action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division and litigation by its Office of the Solicitor that concluded Liberty Gas Station and Convenience Store LLC in Syracuse, and Liberty Pizza & Convenience Inc. in Jamesville, and operator Huseyin Turan failed to pay workers overtime pay when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The workers regularly worked between 50 and 60 hours in a workweek. The investigation also found the employer failed to keep accurate records in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Liberty Gas Station and Turan also agreed to pay $7,272 in civil money penalties assessed by the department.

The department’s investigation and litigation revealed that the employers – who paid employees only straight time wages – attempted to conceal their failure to pay overtime through multiple schemes. They paid employees by check and cash, grossly understating the amount of hours worked on their payroll records, and required employees to sign false records before distributing their pay. They also paid some employees who worked over a total of 40 hours at both Syracuse and Jamesville locations with separate checks. Even after litigation began, the employers destroyed time records, resulting in the district judge issuing sanctions against them, ordering that the jury would be instructed to draw an adverse inference against the employers.

“Paying only straight-time wages to workers who are entitled to overtime compensation and then trying to evade liability by destroying time records and creating fake documents are egregious violations of the law,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey Rogoff in New York City. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring workers are properly paid and will pursue all appropriate legal actions, including filing suit in federal court to hold unscrupulous employers accountable for wage theft.”

“The Wage and Hour Division finds violations like these are all too common in the convenience store and gas station industry. Through this scheme to conceal its unlawful pay practices, the employer harmed these essential workers by depriving them of their hard earned wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director Jay Rosenblum in Albany, New York. “The Wage and Hour Division is available online and by phone to help workers and employers understand their respective rights and responsibilities under the law.”

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.

The division’s Albany District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorneys Alexander Kondo and Amy Tai 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). 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 – As the nation concludes National Home Care and Hospice Month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s work on behalf of the country’s professional caregivers continues with the launch of an ongoing education, outreach and enforcement initiative to ensure their employers pay them their rightful wages and honor all protections afforded them by law.

Disproportionally women of color and among the nation’s lowest paid workers, caregivers were among millions of frontline workers – often exposed to the risks of coronavirus infection – who labored through the pandemic as they tended to the needs of the sick, elderly and children.

“Professional caregivers have always been and continue to be some of our nation’s most essential workers. We look to them to care for us and our families and they deserve our appreciation, respect and protection,” said Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “The education, outreach and enforcement initiative we are announcing today will help ensure the rights of all workers are protected and employers who flout the law are held accountable.”

Led by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, the initiative focuses resources on educating essential care workers and their communities about their rights to minimum wage and overtime pay and how to file a complaint if they believe their rights have been violated. The initiate will also target misclassification of workers as independent contractors, an illegal practice that may deprive workers of legally earned wages, and other protections.

As part of its outreach component, the effort will also focus on developing and strengthening partnerships with state and local agencies, and other stakeholders, to ensure employers fully understand their legal responsibilities, that workers know their rights and both realize that the division is ready to answer their questions or address their concerns.

The initiative will also incorporate a strong enforcement component to encourage employer compliance and reduce violations by industry employers. In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $38.7 million in back wages for healthcare industry workers, and identified misclassification of workers as independent contractors as an increasingly common violation cited by investigators.

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.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh stood with workers and local officials in Birmingham, Alabama, today to announce the department’s final rule that implements Executive Order 14026 to increase the hourly minimum wage for employees on federal contracts to $15 per hour beginning Jan. 30, 2022. President Biden signed the order on April 27, 2021.

At Kelly Ingram Park, the Secretary joined Rep. Terri Sewell and Mayor Randall Woodfin to meet with area workers who talked about how the new rule will help their communities. These workers included:

• Jamie Brown, a customer service representative at Maximus, an IT company in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
• Carolyn Morris, a janitor at Maxwell Air Force base in Montgomery, Alabama for more than 30 years and a United Steelworkers Local 9504 member.
• Ann Jones, a floor technician at Fort Benning, Georgia and a Laborers’ International Union of North America member.

“Being in Birmingham to announce this transformative action gave me a great opportunity to meet a community of workers who have been a driving force in the fight to raise the minimum wage,” said Secretary Walsh. “Now, the federal government is doing its part to ensure that workers on federal contracts are earning a decent wage for the invaluable services they provide to keep our government running.”

Learn more about the final rule to increase the hourly minimum wage for employees on federal contracts.