February 22, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor to host virtual two-day educational seminar for agriculture industry employers, workers, other stakeholders

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.

February 18, 2021

Myrtle Beach Ben & Jerry’s franchisee to pay $21,360 in back wages, fines after US Department of Labor investigation finds wage, child labor violations

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.

February 18, 2021

US Labor Department finds Guam construction contractor illegally attempted to avoid paying overtime by misclassifying workers as independent contractors

DEDEDO, GUAM – By deliberately misclassifying employees as independent contractors, a Dededo construction company attempted to avoid paying overtime when workers exceeded 40 hours in a workweek until a federal investigation uncovered the scheme.

February 18, 2021

Twin Cities area grocer will pay $212K in overtime back wages to 81 workers after US Department of Labor investigation

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.

February 17, 2021

Guam contractor’s violation leaves 43 construction workers from the Philippines in search of their overtime pay

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.

February 16, 2021

US Department of Labor seeks Guam’s building, heavy, highway and residential construction industries input for wage survey

HAGATNA, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is asking businesses in Guam’s building, heavy, highway and residential construction industries to complete a survey to help the agency establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

February 16, 2021

US Labor Department investigation recovers $66K in back wages for 12 workers of Central New Jersey landscaping contractor

SOMERSET, NJ For many landscaping industry workers, long days and hard work are the norm. For 12 workers of a Somerset landscaping contractor that failed to pay overtime when workweeks exceeded 40 hours, getting all of their hard-earned wages was almost as strenuous.

February 16, 2021

Federal subcontractor pays $68,711 to workers after investigation by US Department of Labor finds prevailing wage violations in Oregon

PORTLAND, OR After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, a Salem construction contractor is paying $68,711 in back wages to 31 employees who worked on a Eugene-Springfield area public housing project funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

February 16, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $51K in back wages for 56 workers after investigation finds SoCal supermarket violated federal overtime requirements

IRVINE, CA – An Irvine supermarket has paid $51,430 in back wages owed to 56 workers after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

February 12, 2021

Michigan resort pays $87K in overtime back wages to 256 employees after US Department of Labor finds overtime violations

BELLAIRE, MI – A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has found that Trinidad Resort & Club LLC, operator of the Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements repeatedly when it paid workers only for the hours they were scheduled, rather than for the total number of hours they actually worked.

February 10, 2021

Fort Lauderdale HVAC contractor pays $20K in back wages to 18 employees as US Department of Labor finds overtime violations

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.

February 8, 2021

Detroit grocer pays $10K in civil money penalties after US Department of Labor finds child labor violations

DETROIT A Detroit grocery store employed several minors in violation of federal child labor laws by allowing them to operate trash compactors and tend to bottle recycling machines.

February 5, 2021

Ohio health care service provider for individuals with developmental disabilities pays $92K in overtime back wages to 61 employees

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.

February 5, 2021

Federal contractor pays $293K in back wages to 69 employees in Nevada after US Department of Labor investigation finds prevailing wage violations

LAS VEGAS – A federal contractor working at Nevada’s Tonopah Test Range – including Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs – has paid $293,051 in back wages and fringe benefits to 69 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer failed to pay workers required prevailing wages.

February 5, 2021

Modesto residential care facilities to pay employees $135K in back wages after US Department of Labor finds minimum wage, overtime violations

MODESTO, CA – The owner of eight residential care facilities in Modesto will pay $135,092 in back wages to 56 employees and $27,872 in civil penalties after the U.S.

January 29, 2021

US Department of Labor ends program that allowed employers to self-report federal minimum wage and overtime violations

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.

January 19, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Four Wage and Hour Opinion Letters

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:

January 15, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Three Wage and Hour Opinion Letters

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:

January 15, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule to Modernize H-2A Temporary Agricultural Labor Certification Program

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.

January 14, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor Launches Education and Enforcement Initiative to Ensure Child Care Industry Complies with Federal Labor Laws

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has launched an outreach and enforcement initiative to improve compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) among businesses in the child care industry in its Southwest region.