NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Labor has found that the wages of hundreds of painters and drywall workers employed by a Louisiana contractor on construction projects, including work at New Orleans’ Superdome, were tackled for a loss when their employer misclassified the workers as independent contractors, a common industry violation.

CLEVELAND, TN – El Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos recuperó $374,493 en concepto de salarios y daños y perjuicios para 62 trabajadores de la construcción empleados por un contratista de Cleveland que les negó el pago de horas extras que exige la ley federal, y puso en peligro la seguridad de un niño de 11 años que había empleado como jardinero con permiso para operar maquinaria peligrosa.

CLEVELAND, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $374,493 wages and liquidated damages for 62 construction workers employed by a Cleveland contractor that denied them overtime wages when required by federal law, and jeopardized the safety of an 11-year-old by employing them as a groundskeeper allowed to operate dangerous equipment.

LOUISVILLE, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $130,879 in back wages and liquidated damages for 68 workers after a Beattyville-based food services contractor failed to pay their full wages by incorrectly applying overtime rules for managers.

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $156,837 in back wages from a Honolulu contractor who paid 46 workers lower wages than the law allows for the type of work they performed under federal contracts awarded by U.S. Marine Corps, Navy, Army and Coast Guard in Hawaii.

Employer:                                          Brito Enterprises of Tampa Inc.

WASHINGTON – In the summer months, many employers hire young workers to meet increased demand. Across the nation in 2022, millions of teenagers are working in the agriculture, food services, retail, recreation and construction industries. At the same time, increases in child labor violations has the U.S. Department of Labor stepping up employer outreach and enforcement actions to help employers prevent young workers’ jobs from jeopardizing their safety, health or educational opportunities.

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred an East Wenatchee orchard operator for three years from participation in a federal program that allows employment of temporary agricultural workers from outside the U.S. after investigators determined that the employer provided unsafe and unhealthy housing, failed to provide work promised in workers’ contracts, and subjected workers to verbal abuse and threats.

Employer:                                          LI&YU Restaurant LLC, operating as 

HOUSTON – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $178,358 in overtime back wages for 27 employees of a Houston welding and fabrication company that misclassified them as independent contractors and denied them their full wages and benefits.

SAN JOSE, CA – Denying their workers overtime pay when required has had costly consequences for the operators of six northern California pizza franchise locations from whom the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $608,272 in back wages and liquidated damages for 33 workers.

HOUSTON - Una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. ha recuperado $178,358 en salarios por horas extras atrasados para 27 trabajadores de una empresa de soldadura y fabricación de Houston que los clasificaba erróneamente como contratistas independientes y les negaba sus salarios y beneficios completos.

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.

NEWARK, NJ – A U.S.

HAVELOCK, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $268,014 in back wages for 63 workers of a Reston, Virginia, technical and engineering contractor who denied them a portion of their wages and benefits while they worked on a Department of Defense project in Havelock.

FRANKLIN PARK, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $115,801 in back wages and damages for 36 workers after an investigation found their employer denied them overtime pay at two New Jersey car washes.

GULF BREEZE, FL – A federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor at a Gulf Breeze restaurant found several pay practice and child labor violations, including the failure to pay sushi chefs overtime wages due and the employment of 15-year-old workers for more hours per week than the law allows.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is asking the highway construction industry of Georgia to participate in a survey to help the agency establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

DALLAS – To prevent the dangers of heat illness as summer heat descends on the Southwest’s farmworkers, the U.S. Department of Labor is taking immediate measures to raise awareness of the hazards faced by those working to maintain the nation’s food supply.

MAUI – A federal investigation has recovered $290,314 in rightfully earned wages and damages owed to 95 workers after the pay practices of their employer – the operator of five Maui food truck-restaurants – willfully denied them their full wages.