PHILADELPHIA – A federal court has ordered a Philadelphia home healthcare staffing agency and its owner to pay nearly $410,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 43 employees after U.S. Department of Labor investigators found that the employer misclassified workers as independent contractors.

Employer:                              Chong’s Restaurant

Investigation site:                  5136 Hinkleville Road, Paducah, Kentucky 42001

DALLAS – As minor-aged workers seek to make extra cash by working more hours during spring recess, their employers should take the opportunity to review federal child labor laws to avoid violations and costly penalties.

HARTFORD, CT – A federal court entered a consent order that requires two Fairfield County restaurants and their owners – who used threats of retaliation to coerce nine workers to kick back thousands of dollars of back wages and liquidated damages recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division – to pay $150,000 to those employees.

WINCHESTER, IN – A Winchester non-profit provider of social services shortchanged caregivers by failing to pay them the federal minimum wage, as the law requires for all government contractors, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as it considers updating the regulations that implement the Davis-Bacon Act and Davis-Bacon and Related Acts to reflect better the needs of workers in the construction industry and planned federal construction investments.

FROSTPROOF, FL – Un juez federal aprobó un acuerdo con un contratista agrícola de Frostproof (José M. Gracia Harvesting Inc.), quien, según descubrió el Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU., defraudo a los trabajadores y no les proporcionó condiciones de vida higiénicas y seguras, una práctica que requerirá que pague los salarios atrasados y una sanción pecuniaria civil.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division today published and launched several resources to help combat retaliation by employers against employees for exercising their worker rights. These resources include the following:

FROSTPROOF, FL – A federal judge approved a settlement with a Frostproof farm labor contractor – Jose M. Gracia Harvesting Inc. – who the U.S. Department of Labor found shortchanged workers and failed to provide them with safe and sanitary living conditions – a practice that will require him to pay back wages and a civil money penalty.

Date of action:                       January 11, 2022

Type of action:                      Complaint

Names of defendants:          Sentinel Security Group Inc.

GOSHEN, IN – At 18 locations across Indiana, a Goshen-based credit union failed to pay 34 mortgage loan advisors and mortgage loan originators the full overtime wages they were due.

BOSTON – Following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, a federal court ordered a Holbrook tree service company and its owner – who threatened a former employee who participated in an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division – to pay the worker $25,000 in punitive damages.

BOSTON - Tras una investigación y un litigio del Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos, un tribunal federal ordenó a una empresa de servicios de árboles de Holbrook y a su propietario -que amenazó a un ex empleado que participó en una investigación de la División de Horas y Salarios del departamento- que pagaran al trabajador $25,000 en concepto de daños punitivos.

ATHENS, GA – A federal investigation has found two Zaxby’s franchise restaurants in Lilburn and Grayson endangered minor-aged employees and allowed them to work outside of prescribed hours, in violation of federal child labor laws.

BOSTON – Após uma investigação e litígio pelo Departamento do Trabalho dos EUA, um tribunal federal condenou uma empresa de poda de árvores de Holbrook e seu proprietário – que ameaçaram um ex-funcionário por participar em uma investigação do departamento da Divisão de Horas e Salários – a pagar ao trabalhador $25,000 em indenizações punitivas.

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – A federal judge ordered American Made Bags LLC in Akron and its owner to pay a total of $189,756 – $94,893 in back wages and an equal amount in damages – to 48 employees after two separate federal investigations found numerous illegal pay practices.

UPPER DARBY, PA – A federal court has ordered an Upper Darby home healthcare agency to pay $4,544,872 in back wages and liquidated damages after U.S. Department of Labor investigators found that the employer misclassified some workers as independent contractors, which denied 503 home health aides their rightfully earned overtime wages.

WHO:             U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division

                         Bureau of Labor Statistics

NEW KENSINGTON, PA – A federal court has approved a consent judgment ordering a New Kensington landscaping company and its owner to pay $150,000 in back wages and penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employer willfully denied overtime pay to its workers.

COLUMBUS, OH– Home healthcare workers assist their clients with daily living tasks and even stay overnight at their homes to provide around-the-clock care. Despite their essential labor, these workers are sometimes denied all their rightful wages by their employer’s illegal pay practices, as federal investigators found in a recent labor investigation in Columbus.