BOYNTON BEACH, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division works hard to help employers understand that violating federal labor laws can be costly, a lesson a Boynton Beach-based residential construction contractor has learned.

An investigation by the division has led to the recovery of $240,497 in back wages for 40 workers employed by Properties of Elegant Distinction LLC to resolve the company’s overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The division found the employer paid workers for their first 40 hours in the workweek with a company check or through direct deposit and paid for any hours worked over 40 with a second check issued from a separate account at the workers’ straight-time rate. By doing so, the employer failed to pay employees overtime as the law requires.

“Employers must understand and comply with federal labor laws, including paying workers the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel Cronin in Miami. “When employers don’t comply, they violate the law, hurt their employees and gain an unfair competitive advantage over employers that play by the rules. As we emerge from the pandemic, the Wage and Hour Division is working to make sure essential workers take home every penny of their hard-earned wages.”

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 and use its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

FORT WASHINGTON, PA – A Fort Washington organization that employed at-risk teens to peddle candy and other items door-to-door is alleged to have violated federal child labor laws. 

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia against Pennsylvania Youth Club Inc. and owners Tarique Smith and Karon Duffy alleging the defendants violated the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and seeking an injunction against future violations.

The department has separately assessed a $103,051 civil money penalty for child labor law violations. Because the company has contested the penalty, the department has filed an order of reference with its Office of Administrative Law Judges seeking to affirm the penalty amount.  

The actions follow an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the organization hired 17 minors, some as young as 12 years old, to work illegally as door-to-door salespersons. The employer also permitted teens to work during prohibited work hours, and failed to maintain proper records, both FLSA violations. Teens as young as 12 and 13 years old sold products through door-to-door sales, some working as late as 10 p.m. Federal law requires that teens must be at least 16 years old to be employed for door-to-door sales, and limits the number of hours those under 16 years old may work. 

“Protecting our youngest workers continues to be a top priority for the Wage and Hour Division,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Cain, in Philadelphia. “Child labor laws ensure that when young people work, the work does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities. Employers of minors have a responsibility to understand their obligations under the law, and to comply with those requirements. This case should serve as notice to other employers who may be employing minors in similar circumstances.” 

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by agency, contact the division’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. 

ORLANDO, FL – Private mail carriers provide useful support in mail delivery across the nation, and those who work for these federal contractors are expected to meet schedules, and follow specific standards. When three Florida-based contractors failed to deliver all of the workers’ hard-earned wages, the U.S. Department of Labor responded on the workers’ behalf.

Following its investigations, the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that three mail haulers in northern and central Florida – Mercado Santiago Inc. in Middleburg, Copa Post Services LLC in Gainesville and M&M Superior Contracting LLC in Orlando – owed a total of $293,779 to 34 employees. All three employers violated requirements of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act.

The division found Mercado Santiago failed to pay workers for all the hours that they worked, resulting in the contractor paying less than the prevailing wage rates required. In addition, the division found the employer failed to pay required health and welfare benefits for employees and failed to keep accurate time and payroll records. As a result, Mercado Santiago has paid $219,166 in back wages to 16 employees.

Investigators determined Copa Post Services LLC also failed to pay required health and welfare benefits to workers. The employer has paid $25,848 in back wages to 10 employees.

The division found M&M Superior Contracting LLC failed to pay required prevailing wage rates. The employer also failed to pay required health and welfare benefits and holiday pay to workers, and failed to allow employees to accrue vacation time or vacation pay. The employer owes $48,765 in back wages to eight employees.

“Prevailing wage laws provide a safety net for fair wages and benefits to workers on contracts providing services to the federal government. Enforcement of these laws protects the wages of hard-working, middle-class American workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “The Wage and Hour Division will remain vigilant in its work to ensure employees are paid in compliance with these laws, and that employers compete on a level playing field.”

In April 2013, the U.S. Postal Service awarded Mercado Santiago a contract to provide mail-hauling services in Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties. The contract expires in September 2022. Copa Post Services hires employees to work at USPS locations delivering mail on SCA contracts in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. M&M Superior Contracting holds three separate SCA contracts to deliver mail for the USPS in Orlando.

For more information about the SCA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – During the pandemic, commercial cleaning workers remain a lifeline to businesses, keeping employees, customers and others safe. These workers risk coronavirus exposure in return for the wages they need to care for themselves and their families.

Ensuring that workers like these are paid all of the wages they legally earn is the job of the U.S. Department of Labor and its Wage and Hour Division. A recent investigation at Quality Touch Janitorial Service Inc. has recovered $20,849 in back wages for 31 workers after the division found the North Charleston employer violated the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Investigators determined that instead of tracking the number of hours employees worked each workweek and paying overtime when they worked beyond 40, Quality Touch tracked and paid overtime after employees worked 86.67 hours in a semi-monthly pay period. The FLSA requires employers to pay overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The division also found the cleaning company failed to include certain hazard and specialty cleaning pay in workers’ regular rates of pay when calculating overtime rates. Excluding those amounts resulted in the employer paying overtime at rates lower than those required by law.

“Employers are welcome to establish any pay period they choose, but regardless of whether they decide to pay weekly, bi-weekly, twice a month, or on some other schedule, they still must track workers’ hours each week to determine when overtime is due,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “The pandemic has made our work to ensure essential workers take home every cent of their hard-earned wages and that employers understand their responsibilities vitally important. We encourage anyone with questions to reach out to us for confidential 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, and its search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

SNEEDVILLE, TN – The Hancock County Sheriff’s Department in Sneedville found they had failed to follow the law after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined the employer did not pay required overtime or comp time to employees who worked more than 40 hours per workweek.

The overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act led the division to recover $47,252 in back wages for 65 workers in the sheriff’s department. While the FLSA allows law enforcement employers to pay overtime or provide compensatory time to their employees based on work periods other than the standard 40 hour workweek, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department chose not to claim that exemption. Violations occurred when payroll processing errors resulted in the employer’s failure to track when workers exceeded 40 hours in a workweek.

“Employers must pay workers all the wages they have earned, including overtime,” said Acting Wage and Hour Division District Director Kenneth Stripling in Nashville, Tennessee. “In this case, those in the business of protecting us needed protections themselves. We encourage employers to review their pay practices to ensure that they are in compliance with the law, and to reach out to us, confidentially, with any questions. A call to our help-line puts you in touch with a trained Wage and Hour professional who can answer your questions.”

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). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

GREENVILLE, PA – Every two weeks, supervisors and behavior specialists gathered at Keystone Adolescent Center Inc.’s five Greenville facilities where they discussed policy changes, completed required training and reviewed safety procedures – all to be prepared to help at-risk youth they serve.

The employer also used the gathering to distribute paychecks, yet failed to pay 80 workers who attended these meetings and required trainings outside of their regular shifts for the time they spent at them. A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that – by excluding this work time from employees’ pay – Keystone Adolescent violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, and led to the recovery of $44,858 in back wages for the workers.

Investigators found that Keystone Adolescent paid employees for time spent at staff meetings and required trainings only if those meetings and trainings occurred during their scheduled shifts. The employer failed to pay workers attending outside of their normal work hours for time they spent in those meetings and required trainings. Failing to record and pay for this time violated FLSA overtime and recordkeeping requirements.

“Employers must pay employees all the wages they legally earn, which includes paying them for any hours they work outside of their scheduled shifts,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh. “We encourage all employers to use the wide variety of compliance assistance tools we offer to ensure they are complying with the law, and avoid violations like those found in this case. We also invite them to call us to speak directly with a trained Wage and Hour professional for confidential assistance.”

Keystone Adolescent paid the overtime wages owed to employees at five Greenville locations as follows:

• Keystone Female Services, 95 South Race St.: $11,650 in back wages to 23 workers.
• Keystone Education Center, 425 South Good Hope Road: $13,309 in back wages to 21 workers.
• Keystone Transitional Living-Female, 95 South Race St.: $2,805 in back wages to five workers.
• Keystone Adolescent Center, 60 South Race St.: $10,171 in back wages to 22 workers.
• Keystone Transitional Living-Male, 52 Sharon Road: $6,923 in back wages to nine workers.

Founded in 1993, Keystone Adolescent Center Inc. provides community based programs that offer behavior modification, therapeutic counseling, and educational opportunities for at-risk adolescents. The employer also provides 24-hour care and supervision for delinquent and dependent youth throughout western Pennsylvania.   

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). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

KALAMAZOO, MI – Zeigler Auto Group’s sales may place it among the leading auto dealerships nationwide, but a recent federal investigation found sales consultants’ commissions often failed to meet minimum wage requirements at 13 Michigan, Indiana and Illinois locations.

The investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered a total of $85,111, in minimum wages and overtime back wages for 214 employees of Harold Zeigler Auto Group Inc. 

“Employees paid on commission basis must earn at least the federal minimum wage per hour of work completed. If they do not, employers must make up the difference,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Mary O’Rourke in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Our investigation put money into the pockets of workers who were underpaid, and levels the playing field for employers who play by the rules. Other employers in this industry should use this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices and avoid similar violations.”

The division found the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when they:

• Failed to assure that sales consultants’ commissions covered at least the federal minimum wage for all the hours that they worked during each monthly settlement period;
• Wrongly classified some salaried employees in their business development centers as exempt from overtime requirements, and then failed to pay them overtime despite their duties not qualifying for exemption; and
• Failed to maintain accurate payroll records.

Investigators determined the employer had underpaid 80 sales consultants employed at 10 locations including: Zeigler of Kalamazoo, Zeigler Motorsports, Zeigler of Grandville and Zeigler of Plainwell, in Michigan; Zeigler Ford of Elkhart, Indiana; and Hoffman Estates Mercedes Benz, Hoffman Estates Infiniti, Zeigler Nissan of Gurnee, Zeigler of North Riverside and Zeigler of Lincolnwood, all located in Illinois.

Headquartered in Kalamazoo, Zeigler Auto Group owns and operates 30 retail automotive dealerships, three finance companies, a leasing firm, insurance firms and a real estate portfolio throughout Southwest Michigan, Northern Indiana and Illinois.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the agency, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $245,351 in back wages for 117 employees of a greenhouse tomato grower in Madison, Maine, that failed to comply with federal laws governing wages and working conditions for agricultural temporary guest workers, U.S. workers and workers in corresponding employment.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Backyard Farms LLC violated the labor provisions of the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Visa Program and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act . In addition to the back wages, Backyard Farms paid $92,114 in civil money penalties for its violations.

Investigators determined Backyard Farms violated H-2A program requirements when it made room for incoming foreign workers by dismissing U.S. workers it employed through temporary help agencies as de-leafers, pickers and packers. The grower also paid workers in corresponding employment lower wages than H-2A workers for performing the same work, which is prohibited by law. Additionally, Backyard Farms failed to offer employment to U.S. workers who worked in the same occupation the previous year, instead giving those positions to guest workers. The employer also failed to provide employees with copies of their work contracts, as required by law.

Backyard Farms also violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act when it contracted with three temporary help agencies that were not farm labor contractors registered to perform MSPA-covered activities.

“The U.S. Department of Labor continues to enforce the requirements of agricultural guest worker program to ensure employers do not terminate or fail to offer jobs to U.S. workers in favor of foreign workers, and do not pay any workers in corresponding employment less than their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel Cronin in Manchester, New Hampshire. “In this case, Backyard Farms dismissed some U.S. workers and paid other workers lower wages than foreign workers for the same work. Employers that violate the requirements of the H-2A program can be assessed back wages and substantial penalties, and may be barred from participating in the H-2A program for up to 3 years.”

The division’s Northern New England District Office in Manchester conducted the investigation.

The Wage and Hour Division provides its Workers Owed Wages search tool to assist workers owed back wages. The division also provides employers with a range of compliance assistance materials and encourages all employers to contact their local office to speak confidentially with a wage and hour professional to discuss any questions they may have. For more information about the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Program and other laws enforced by the division, call 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

GULF BREEZE, FL – For low-wage earners, every minute spent working equals much-needed income. When employers fail to account for all the hours employees work, as was the case with a Gulf Breeze restaurant, these workers find it more difficult to provide for themselves and their families.

An investigation of Rio Bravo Mexican Restaurant Gulf Breeze Inc. by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $19,008 in wages for 24 workers. The division found that the employer, who does business as Rio Bravo, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by:

• Failing to pay tipped employees for all the hours that they worked, which led to a minimum wage violation. Rather than paying according to when their shifts began, the employer did not pay servers until their first customers arrived.
• Failing to pay required overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid semi-monthly without determining whether employees worked overtime on a single workweek basis, as the law requires.
• Failing to maintain complete and accurate records of the number of hours employees worked.

“Employers that pay workers on a semi-monthly schedule are still required to keep time records on a weekly basis in order to pay overtime correctly when employees work more than 40 hours in a given workweek,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando. “Employees are entitled to every cent they have earned. The U.S. Department of Labor encourages all employers to contact their nearest Wage and Hour Division office for assistance with understanding their responsibilities under the law. Violations such as those found in this case can be avoided.”

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

NILES, MI – A recent court order requires one of the nation’s largest traffic control companies to pay road flaggers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio for time they spend transporting their co-workers in a company truck to and from job sites at the company’s request.

Following an investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, requiring AWP Inc. to pay 18 road flaggers $6,311 in overtime back wages and $288 in pre-judgment interest.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that AWP – which operates as Area Wide Protective – assigned road flaggers to transport co-workers in a company truck to and from job sites before and after the workday but failed to record or pay for that extra work time. In doing so, the employer miscalculated the total number hours employees worked and failed to pay overtime when employees exceed 40 hours during a workweek – all Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

The affected employees work at the company’s Niles facility. AWP will begin paying its road flaggers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio for time spent transporting their co-workers unless it is voluntary.

“Being required to pick up another employee on the way to the job site and taking them back to the pickup site at the end of the day is more than incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, and needs to be counted as work time,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Mary O’Rourke in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Employers must accurately record and pay their employees for all of the hours they work. An investigation like this one ensures that workers get paid the wages they have earned, and levels the playing field for employers that comply with the law.”

Based in North Canton, Ohio, AWP provides temporary traffic control management services to major utility companies, municipalities, contractors and events companies and operates in 23 states.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

Case No: DOL v. AWP INC. D/B/A Area Wide Protective, 18-CV-1183