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.

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.