September 16, 2021

Long Island hotel management companies to pay $210,000 in wages, penalties after US Department of Labor finds H-2B guest worker program violations

NEW YORK Employees of two commonly owned and operated East Hampton, New York, hotel management companies found their work was no vacation when their employers – Dune Resorts LLC and Ocean Bay Management Inc. – violated several requirements of the H-2B Visa program, resulting in direct job losses to 39 U.S. workers and underpayments to 59 H-2B employees.

September 9, 2021

Federal court orders Massachusetts pizza restaurants, owner to pay $307K in back wages, damages to 14 employees after investigation, litigation

BOSTON – The operator of two Framingham area pizza restaurants must pay $307,704.86 – $153,852 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 14 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor obtained summary judgment in federal court.

September 8, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $14K for Illinois retirement plan after investigation finds company owner failed to forward contributions

HILLSIDE, IL – After a Hillside business owner failed to forward $10,184 in employee retirement contributions to his company’s retirement plan as required, a federal court barred him from serving as a fiduciary in the future for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

September 2, 2021

US Department of Labor obtains judgment after investigation finds Appleton company failed to forward contributions

GREEN BAY, WI – A federal judge has signed a default judgment against an Appleton company and ordered fiduciaries of the defunct company’s retirement plan to restore $41,869 in employee payroll-deducted retirement contributions and lost opportunity costs to the plan.

September 1, 2021

Federal court orders Fishtown bar, bottle shop to pay nearly $520K in back wages, damages, penalties after US Labor Department investigation

PHILADELPHIA – The operator of a popular Fishtown bar and bottle shop that prides itself on offering Philadelphia’s largest selection of beer and wine appeared to be less focused on paying its bartenders and servers as the law requires, a federal investigation found and a consent judgement entered in a U.S. District Court confirmed.

August 25, 2021

US Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor welcomes applications from graduating law students, recent graduates to join Honors Program

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor invites outstanding recent law school graduates with a passion for public service to apply for its two-year Honors Program and earn unique experience in one of the federal government’s preeminent legal offices.

August 20, 2021

US Department of Labor obtains consent order restraining Danbury bakery, owner from retaliating against employees who cooperate with wage investigation

HARTFORD, CT – A Danbury bakery and its owner may not threaten, terminate or cause harm to current or former workers who cooperate with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation of the bakery’s employment practices, a federal court in Hartford has ordered in a consent preliminary injunction obtained by the department.

August 9, 2021

O tribunal ordena que empreiteiros de Massachusetts paguem US$ 100.000 em danos a funcionário após investigação do Departamento do Trabalho dos EUA descobrir retaliação ilegal

BOSTON – Um funcionário que trabalhava para duas empreiteiras de construção em Massachusetts estava dentro de seus direitos quando reclamou com seu supervisor sobre o não recebimento de horas extras e solicitou ser pago como devido. As duas empresas responderam com uma campanha de retaliação, pressionando o trabalhador a retirar a reclamação de horas extras.

August 9, 2021

Court orders Massachusetts contractors to pay $100K in damages to employee after US Department of Labor investigation finds illegal retaliation

BOSTON – An employee who worked for two Massachusetts construction contractors was within his rights when he complained to his supervisor about not receiving overtime pay and requested the wages he was due. The two companies responded with a campaign of retaliation, pressuring the worker to withdraw his overtime complaint. They convinced other individuals to follow and threaten the worker’s family, and told other employees they might lose their jobs because the worker requested overtime pay that was legally due.

August 9, 2021

Tribunal dictamina que contratistas de Massachusetts paguen $100,000 por daños a empleado tras investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. que detectó represalias ilegales

BOSTON – Un empleado que trabajaba para dos contratistas de construcción de Massachusetts estaba ejerciendo sus derechos cuando se quejó ante su supervisor por no recibir el pago de horas extra y solicitó el salario que le correspondía. Las dos compañías respondieron con una campaña de represalias, presionando al trabajador a retirar su reclamación por el pago de las horas extra.

August 6, 2021

Court enters consent order that Canton, Massachusetts companies pay $310K in back wages, damages to 19 employees denied overtime

BOSTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has entered a consent order that three Canton construction businesses and their president, Charles L. Capone, pay a total of $310,000 – $155,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 19 employees following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

August 5, 2021

Court orders Minnesota provider to pay $483K in back wages, damages to 87 home healthcare employees denied overtime pay

GOLDEN VALLEY, MN Low-wage workers often do much of the essential work in our communities, and women, immigrants and people of color often hold those jobs. The healthcare industry employs many of the nation’s low-wage workers, which underscores the importance of a federal court action and a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation related to a Golden Valley home healthcare provider.

July 23, 2021

Lansing business owner sentenced after federal investigation finds they failed to forward employee contributions to retirement plan

LANSING, MI – A Lansing business owner who failed to forward $25,252 in employer contributions and $52,753 in employee payroll-deducted retirement contributions to his company’s individual retirement plan will pay $798 in court fines and costs after pleading guilty in Michigan’s 30th Circuit Court of Ingham County.

July 16, 2021

Federal court orders Chicago-area company to pay whistleblower $95K in back wages after US Department of Labor investigation

NORTHBROOK, IL – A federal court has approved the settlement of a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration whistleblower investigation that determined a Northbrook waste management company violated federal law when it retaliated against a former truck driver who reported a workplace injury and raised concerns to the company that an unrepaired truck was unsafe to operate.

July 15, 2021

Colorado court sentences Avon construction company owner to jail, orders restitution for family of worker killed in Granby trench collapse

AVON, CO – A Colorado state court has sentenced the owner of an Avon construction company to jail and ordered restitution for the family of a 50-year-old company worker who suffered fatal injuries in a preventable trench collapse at a Granby work site in June 2018.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Chicago towing company denies minimum wage, overtime to employees misclassified as independent contractors

CHICAGO – The operators of a Chicago towing company that promises customers round-the-clock service failed to pay dozens of its workers legally for the hours they worked providing emergency road service. 

June 29, 2021

Court orders two Minnesota restaurants to pay $435k in back wages following US Department of Labor investigation

MINNEAPOLIS – Imagine being on your feet 60 hours a week serving customers but getting paid for just 30, or working more than 10 hours a day as a cook or dishwasher for a flat salary and being denied minimum wage and overtime protections because your employer wrongly classified you as an independent contractor and not as an employee.

June 2, 2021

Lackawanna County home healthcare company pays $140K in back wages, damages, penalties after US Labor Department secures court judgment

OLYPHANT, PA – A federal court has entered a consent judgment resolving a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit filed after an investigation found that an Olyphant home healthcare agency failed to pay 98 nurses overtime wages they legally earned – including payment for ancillary work and work-related travel – in violation of federal law.

June 1, 2021

Court orders Long Island contractor to pay $500K to 69 employees following US Department of Labor investigation, litigation

NEW YORK – A Long Island construction contractor who often directed laborers and masons to work 10-hour days, five or six days a week, knew the Fair Labor Standards Act required employees to receive overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week, but disregarded the law.

May 24, 2021

US Department of Labor obtains preliminary injunction restraining Massachusetts contractor from retaliating against employees

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts prohibiting a Canton contractor from retaliating against former and current employees who cooperate with the department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation or engage in other activity protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act.