LANSDOWNE, PA – A federal court has ordered a Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, diner, and its owner and a manager to pay more than $1.35 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 107 servers and kitchen workers after a five-day trial confirmed the business operators used an illegal tip pool.

BOSTON - Como resultado de una litigación por desacato civil prolongada por parte del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. contra dos empresas de construcción de Massachusetts, el Tribunal Distrital de EE. UU. por el distrito de Massachusetts aprobó la distribución de $1.8 millones provenientes de las ventas de inmuebles ordenadas por el tribunal y fondos adicionales a 478 trabajadores empleados por Force Corp., AB Construction Group Inc., Juliano Fernandes y Anderson dos Santos.

CHICAGO – After more than two years, a Chicago restaurant owner has finally complied with an administrative subpoena to provide documentation for a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigation. The compliance comes after a federal judge held Wilson Torres, owner of La Bomba Food Restaurant Inc., in contempt and confined him to one night in jail and ordered him to pay $40,500 in fines.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked the Office of Administrative Law Judges to compel federal contractor Rosemount Inc.

ALBANY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the former owner of an Albany restaurant after he allegedly tried to intimidate three workers and prevent them from participating in a private class action lawsuit, thus depriving them of their full rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court ruled unanimously on Aug. 22, 2022, that the operator of a Lake County, Minnesota, iron ore mine flagrantly violated the federal Mine Safety and Health Act when it directed miners to work on an elevated walkway known to be unsafe for more than a year.

NORTH BARRINGTON, IL – A Roselle contractor with a long history of federal workplace safety violations who currently owes more than $390,000 in penalties, added an additional $303,105 in proposed fines for once again exposing workers to potential deadly fall hazards at a North Barrington job site.

PERRY, OH – An Ohio nursery owner’s history of violations, coupled with allegations that they intimidated and threatened workers, and denied them their full wages, has led the U.S. Department of Labor to assess $76,278, in penalties and to debar the Perry employer from participating in the federal agricultural visa program for three years.

Date of action:                       Aug. 4, 2022

Type of action:                      Joint stipulation, order for preliminary injunction

MINNEAPOLIS – After a federal investigation found a Golden Valley franchisee of a national chain of home healthcare providers failed to pay overtime to certified nursing and patient care assistants as required by law – and then attempted to mask the violations – the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint in federal court in Minneapolis to recover back wages and damages.

GRAND ISLAND, NE – A 20-year-old worker’s attempt at clearing a jam in an industrial cardboard baler at a Grand Island waste disposal company turned tragic when the worker fell into the baler, became caught and suffered severe amputation injuries. OSHA alleges the employer disregarded federal regulations designed to prevent such tragedies.

NEW YORK –Trustees to the Teamsters Local 272 Welfare Fund in New York City have agreed to amend the fund to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor, regarding a fund requirement that participants bear 90 percent of the cost of medical and pharmacy claims above certain annual thresholds.

MINNEAPOLIS – An administrative law judge has dismissed a Minnesota company’s notice of contest and affirmed the U.S. Department of Labor finding that the employer violated a federal program that allows foreign, non-agricultural workers with H-2B visas to temporarily work in the U.S.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order to prevent two Astoria, New York, discount stores and their owners and manager from threatening workers and obstructing an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

FORT WAYNE, IN – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found an Indiana provider of home healthcare services violated federal law when it failed to pay workers for time spent driving between clients’ homes, leading to the department’s recovery of $126,162 in back wages for 95 workers.

INDIANAPOLIS – Overtime wages owed to 215 security professionals who patrol Indianapolis International Airport’s grounds, guard local businesses, and provide round-the-clock traffic control in the area were paid following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today posted a Frequently Asked Questions document to provide workers experiencing a worksite labor dispute with guidance on how to seek the department’s support for their requests to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration-related prosecutorial discretion.  

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. publicó hoy un documento de Preguntas Frecuentes para proveer a trabajadores experimentando disputas laborales en el lugar de trabajo orientación sobre cómo buscar el apoyo del departamento a sus solicitudes ante el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional sobre discrecionalidad procesal por motivos de inmigración.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – A federal court in Miami has sentenced the former medical director of a West Palm Beach residential addiction recovery center to prison and ordered more than $31 million in restitution paid as part of a healthcare scheme to obtain reimbursement for $106 million in false claims to more than 80 private insurance companies and federal healthcare benefit programs.

BOSTON – A federal jury in the District of Massachusetts has found that a Massachusetts employer and his company retaliated against an employee who reported an on-the-job injury. The jury awarded $650,000 in damages – $600,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages – as a result.