DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will host a two-day virtual event from March 3-4, 2021, to provide guidance on federal requirements governing agricultural employment to growers, farmers, shippers, contractors, farm labor contractors, buyers and agricultural workers in the agency’s Southwest region.

Presented in coordination with other agencies and stakeholders, the 2021 Virtual Agricultural Seminar will focus on federal regulations governing agricultural employment and include discussions on the Fair Labor Standards Act, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, H-2A temporary agricultural program and Office of Foreign Labor Certification. Learn about requirements for wages, housing, transportation, field sanitation, farm labor contractor certification, and more. Discussions will also include the impact of the coronavirus on agricultural employment.

“The Wage and Hour Division encourages workers, employers and others in the agriculture industry to participate,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Betty Campbell. “We remain committed to ensuring that agricultural workers are paid the wages they have earned, and that employers clearly understand their responsibilities. These workers have remained on the front lines and deserve every protection the law provides.”

Scheduled to join the seminar are representatives from the following agencies and organizations:

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency
• The National Council of Agricultural Employers
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigrant Employee Rights Section
• The McCain Institute Combatting Human Trafficking Program

See the seminar’s agenda. Share the event flyer in English and Spanish. The event will take place on both days from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CST. Attendance is free, but the division recommends participants register for the seminar in advance. 

Read this news release En Español

MYRTLE BEACH, SC – While the operator of six South Carolina ice cream franchise locations sold customers frozen treats, a federal investigation has gotten 61 workers their just desserts – a total of $16,250 in back wages – for the employer’s failure to pay overtime at six Myrtle Beach locations.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Bryers of MB Inc. and Rowland Dairies Inc. – which operate six Ben & Jerry’s locations – paid the workers straight-time for all the hours that they worked, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime when workers’ hours exceeded 40 in a workweek.

In addition to the wage violations, the division also assessed the employer a $5,110 civil money penalty for violations of child labor requirements after the employer allowed two 12-year-olds to operate snow-cone stands, a violation of federal law that governs minimum ages for non-agricultural work. The employer also failed to keep accurate records detailing the dates of birth for the minor workers, and the number of hours some employees worked.

“Employers must ensure they pay workers all the wages they have earned, including overtime, and must pay special attention to the rules about minor employees,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia, South Carolina. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to keeping young employees safe in the workplace. This case should serve as notice to other employers who may employ minors in similar conditions to ensure they comply, and to ensure they pay all workers their rightful wages.”

The division 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 and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

ST. PAUL – Twin Cities’ area shoppers know about Supermercado Lomabonita’s five locations, but they may not know that a recent U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the grocer failed to pay overtime to its cooks, butchers, bakers and cashiers as required by law.

Following an investigation as part of an education and enforcement initiative in the grocery industry by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, Supermercado Lomabonita will pay $212,459 in overtime back wages to 81 employees. The division found the grocer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by:

• Paying employees “straight-time” for all the hours that they worked, including overtime hours that the employer should have paid at time-and-one-half workers’ regular rates of pay;
• Failing to combine hours that employees worked at multiple store sites during the same workweek, leading to  violations when total weekly hours exceeded 40, but the employer failed to pay overtime;
• Erroneously considering some employees as exempt from overtime. These employees worked up to 70 hours a week for a flat salary, and should have received overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a week; and  
• Failing to maintain accurate records of the number of hours employees worked.

“Violations like these are all too common in the grocery industry. Shorting low-wage workers’ pay prevents them from meeting their basic needs,” explained Acting Wage and Hour Division District Director Kristin Tout, in Minneapolis. “Our enforcement and education initiatives raise awareness of federal labor laws and protections among employers, workers, community organizations and others, and help ensure that workers take home every penny of their hard-earned wages.”

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 online videos, and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. For more information visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd or call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

The investigation disclosed the following back wages due, by location:

HAGATNA, GUAM – Forty-three workers left the Philippines, traveling 1,550 miles to Guam through a federal temporary work visa program. While working at various construction sites on Guam, their employer willfully withheld their hard-earned overtime pay. Once the U.S. Department of Labor investigated, these workers received all of the wages they had earned.

After its investigation, the department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $202,390 in unpaid overtime wages that Asian Construction Development Corp. owed to the 43 employees. Investigators found that the general contractor employer failed to pay the workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The division also assessed the employer $29,971 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations found.

Investigators found the contractor paid workers for their first 40 hours each week by check, and recorded these payments in their payroll records. However, Asian Construction Development Corp. paid for any overtime hours employees worked in cash, at straight-time rates, and kept a separate, unreported record of these overtime hours.

“Employers must record and pay workers for all of the hours they work, including overtime,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter, in Honolulu. “The workers in this case left their home countries to work for this employer, and deserved to be paid every penny they have legally earned.”

The division 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 and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – A Fort Lauderdale heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor has paid $20,547 in back wages to 18 employees after a federal investigation found the employer failed to pay workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators determined Fuss Free AC LLC – operating as Fuss Free AC and Appliances – violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. The employer failed to record and pay employees for all of the hours that they worked, resulting in overtime violations in workweeks of more than 40 hours. Fuss Free AC also paid two workers flat weekly salaries regardless of the number of hours they actually worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay overtime as the law requires when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain payroll records as required by the FLSA.

“Employers must pay their workers all of their hard-earned wages for all of the hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Lesbia Rodriguez, in Miami. “Other employers should use the results of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices. The U.S. Department of Labor will continue working to level the playing field for employers that play by the rules, and to ensure workers get paid the wages they have legally earned.”

The division 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 and confidential calls to local Wage and Hour Division offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

MAUMEE, OH – While records at Journey Through Life Care Services LLC showed the Maumee health care service provider paid employees legally required state minimum wage plus time-and-a-half for overtime, federal investigators found the employer regularly failed to pay its employees overtime wages – sometimes paying a mere 50 cents per hour more for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Journey Through Life Care Services has paid a total of $92,275 to 61 direct support care employees in owed overtime back wages and agreed to future compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions. The division determined the employer violated the FLSA’s overtime wage requirements by generally paying workers straight time for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek.

“By assisting individuals with developmental disability with daily tasks, education and transportation, direct care workers provide dignity and hope to vulnerable clients,” said Wage and Hour District Director George Victory, in Columbus, Ohio. “Unfortunately, we continue to find employers in the health care industry violating wage and overtime laws which denies these employees their rightful and hard-earned wages.”

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 online videos, and confidential calls to local division offices. For more information on federal wage and hour laws, visit http://www.dol.gov/whd or call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the immediate end of its Payroll Audit Independent Determination program launched by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in 2018. The program allowed employers to self-report federal minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act to avoid litigation, penalties or damages, and prohibited affected workers from taking any private action on the identified violations.

“Workers are entitled to every penny they have earned,” said Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman. “The Payroll Audit Independent Determination program deprived workers of their rights and put employers that play by the rules at a disadvantage. The U.S. Department of Labor will rigorously enforce the law, and we will use all the enforcement tools we have available.”

The division provides significant outreach and educational resources for employers seeking assistance to understand their responsibilities to comply with wage and hour laws. These resources are sufficient for helping employers comply without relieving them of their legal obligations, and ensure that workers understand their rights.

The Wage and Hour Division investigates FLSA violations to verify that employers comply with their obligations. When enforcement actions are necessary, the FLSA provides for the payment of back wages and liquidated damages to workers and the assessment of civil money penalties when the agency determines the violations to be repeat or willful. The FLSA also gives workers the right to pursue private legal action against employers for back wages and damages.

Employers and workers are encouraged to call a Wage and Hour Division office in their area for FLSA compliance assistance. Calls are confidential. Learn more about the FLSA and other federal wage laws by calling the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced four opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity that requested the letter.

The opinion letters issued today are:

• FLSA2021-6: Addressing whether staffing firms that recruit, hire and place employees on assignments with clients may qualify as “retail or service establishments” for purposes of the Section 7(i) exemption from the FLSA’s overtime pay requirements;

• FLSA2021-7: Addressing whether certain local small-town and community news source journalists are creative professionals under Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA;

• FLSA2021-8: Addressing whether certain distributors of a manufacturer’s food products are employees or independent contractors under the FLSA; and

• FLSA2021-9: Addressing whether requiring tractor-trailer truck drivers to implement safety measures required by law constitutes control by the motor carrier for purposes of their status as employees or independent contractors under the FLSA and whether certain owner-operators are classified properly as independent contractors.

“The Wage and Hour Division remains committed to providing clear guidance and compliance assistance to workers and employers,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton. “Moreover, publishing additional guidance on independent contractor status under the FLSA augments the Department’s recently finalized rule, providing further clarity for the American workforce.”

Those interested can search the Department’s website for existing opinion letters by keyword, year, topic and other filters. The Department also encourages the public to submit requests for opinion letters to WHD to obtain an opinion or to determine whether existing guidance already addresses their questions. The Division exercises its discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request.

With today’s release, the Wage and Hour Division has now issued 80 opinion letters since Jan. 20, 2017.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the FLSA. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the FMLA, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced three opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity that requested the letter.

The opinion letters issued today are:

• FLSA2021-3: Addressing whether the operations of certain entities satisfy the “establishment” requirement under Section 13(a)(3) of the FLSA, and whether an accrual method of accounting may be used to satisfy the “Receipts Test” under Section 13(a)(3)(B).

• FLSA2021-4: Addressing whether a restaurant may institute a tip pool under the FLSA that includes both servers, for whom the employer takes a tip credit, as well as hosts and hostesses, for whom a tip credit is not taken.

• FLSA2021-5: Addressing the proper calculation of overtime pay under the FLSA when a tipped employee works as a server and bartender, and receives tips and amounts charged as automatic gratuities or service charges.

“The Wage and Hour Division remains committed to providing clear guidance and compliance assistance to workers and employers,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton. “Moreover, providing additional guidance on properly paying tipped employees augments the Department’s recently finalized rule, adding further clarity for workers and employers under these new requirements.”

Those interested can search the Department’s website for existing opinion letters by keyword, year, topic and other filters. The Department also encourages the public to submit requests for opinion letters to WHD to obtain an opinion or to determine whether existing guidance already addresses their questions. The Division exercises its discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request.

With today’s release, the Wage and Hour Division has now issued 76 opinion letters since Jan. 20, 2017.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the FLSA. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the FMLA, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule that modernizes the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program.  

Furthering the Trump Administration’s agenda to help American farmers, the Department’s Employment and Training Administration, and Wage and Hour Division are issuing this final rule in response to the extensive public comments received from farmers, farmworkers, as well as advocates and associations for both groups from across the country.

This rule will modernize the Department’s H-2A regulations in response to stakeholder concerns and enhance employer access to a legal source of agricultural labor, while maintaining the program’s protections for the U.S. workforce and enhancing enforcement against fraud and abuse.  

“This final rule will streamline and simplify the H-2A application process, strengthen protections for U.S. and foreign workers, and ease unnecessary burdens on employers,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “It is a victory for farmers, agricultural workers, and the American people, who rely on a vibrant agricultural sector to supply food for our families.”

The rule mandates electronic filing of job orders and applications, bringing the H-2A application process into the digital era and harnessing the power of electronic filing through the Foreign Labor Application Gateway system to share information with federal agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, and with State Workforce Systems and domestic farmworkers.

It also provides small employers that cannot offer full-time work for their H-2A employees with an opportunity to participate in the H-2A program by establishing new standards that permit individual employers possessing the same need for agricultural services or labor to file a single application and job order to employ workers jointly in full-time employment.

Additionally, the rule will provide additional flexibilities that will reduce unnecessary burdens on the agricultural employers that use the program. These flexibilities include the ability to stagger the entry of workers into the country over a 120-day period, allowing agricultural employers the flexibility to file a single application for different start dates of need within a certified employment period instead of multiple applications. 

The rule will strengthen protections for U.S. and foreign workers by enhancing standards applicable to rental housing and public accommodations, strengthening surety bond requirements, and expanding the Department’s authority to use enforcement tools like program debarment for substantial violations of program rules.

Learn more about H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program. The Department will publish the final rule in the Federal Register at a later date. Read the final rule.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.