January 12, 2016

Investigations at 10 North Carolina restaurants find more than $510K in back wages owed to 125 workers

RALEIGH, N.C. – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division have found violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at 10 San Jose Mexican Restaurant locations throughout the state. As a result, the restaurants will pay a total of $511,745 in back wages to 125 employees. The division’s Raleigh District Office led the initiative.

Violations found include:

January 11, 2016

Taqueria La Herradura in Pharr, Texas, pays over $33K in back wages, damages to kitchen staff after US Department of Labor investigation

Employer: Taqueria La Herradura LLC

Site: 6613 S. Jackson Rd., Pharr, Texas

January 7, 2016

Financial Carrier Services in Charlotte, North Carolina to pay more than $26K to 33 workers following US Labor Department investigation

Employer name: Financial Carrier Services Inc.

Investigation site: 13325 South Point Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina

January 7, 2016

So Cal tire and road service employer to pay more than $118K in unpaid wages, damages to 11 workers

Employer: Bonifacio Ontiveros, doing business as Benny’s Tire and Road Service

Site: 31514 Castaic Road, Castaic, California 91384

January 5, 2016

Restaurant enforcement initiative finds more than $2.27M in back wages, damages owed to more than 3,000 Georgia workers

ATLANTA — U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigations have identified widespread violations of the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Georgia's restaurant industry. As a result, restaurants are paying a total of $2,277,480 in back wages and damages to more than 3,000 employees.

January 5, 2016

Tampa manufacturer paying nearly $60K in back wages and damages after US Labor Department investigation

Employer name: Vartek LLC

Investigation site: 6715 North 53rd St., Tampa, Florida 33610

January 5, 2016

One Global Security, in Orlando, Florida agrees to pay more than $33K in back wages following US Labor Department investigation

Employer name: One Global Security Inc.

Investigation site: 8552 Keswick Pointe Drive, Orlando, Florida 32829

January 4, 2016

Pennsylvania marketing company owes at least $1.75M in back wages and damages for docking employee pay for compensable break time

MALVERN, Pa. — For telemarketing workers of a Malvern publishing company, deciding when to take water, bathroom and rest breaks was a matter of dollars and cents. The workers had their pay docked for virtually all time not spent making sales calls, sometimes bringing their wages below the federal minimum wage.

January 4, 2016

Las Vegas limousine company will pay drivers $240K in back wages

Employers: VLS, LLC doing business as Vegas Limousine Service

Sites: 1400 Commerce Street Las Vegas Nevada 89102

December 21, 2015

Citgo to pay more than $460K in overtime back wages after US Labor Department investigation finds firm failed to record, pay for hours worked

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After ending their 12-hour shifts, workers at Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery spent an average of 15 minutes briefing incoming workers on the next shift — time that was not compensated.

Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, those employees will receive $460,853 in unpaid overtime wages, or roughly two weeks of income for each of the 239 affected employees.

In the Sparkling City by the Sea, that two-week paycheck pays a mortgage and auto loan for one month.

December 21, 2015

Translation firm owes interpreters $1.47M, US Labor Department finds

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A translation and interpretation company that provided services to the federal government and other clients violated federal labor laws and underpaid its nationwide corps of interpreters by $1.47 million in wages and benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor says.

December 10, 2015

WHD News Release: Southern California flooring contractor pays more than $458K in back wages, damages to 127 workers following US Labor Department investigation [12/10/2015]

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Drivers experience frustrations when stuck in congested traffic areas, such as Los Angeles. Sometimes, other factors test their tolerance, such as spending multiple hours behind the wheel each day for work and not getting paid for all that time, as required by law. That is what happened to 127 workers in Riverside.

December 10, 2015

WHD News Brief: Painting contractor in Phoenix to pay nearly $200K in back wages, damages and penalties following US Labor Department investigation [12/10/2015]

Employer: Arizona Painting Company LLC

Site: 3235 N. Arizona Avenue, Suite D-10, Chandler, Arizona 85225

December 8, 2015

WHD News Brief: Cal-Clean fined after 17-year-old has lower leg amputated while illegally cleaning machinery at Canton, Ohio, chicken processing facility [12/08/2015]

CANTON, Ohio — A teenage worker had his left leg amputated below the knee when his employer illegally allowed him to clean a giblet chiller machine at a Canton chicken processing facility.

December 8, 2015

WHD News Brief: 3 Amigos Fresh Mexican Grill paying nearly $104K in back wages and damages to 33 workers following U.S. Labor Department investigation [12/08/2015]

Employer: Leonardo M. Rodriguez, doing business as 3 Amigos Fresh Mexican Grill

Sites: Three Los Angeles-area locations: 365 E. Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks; 20040 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills; and 139 N. Reino Rd., Newbury Park.

December 8, 2015

WHD News Brief: Lawsuit seeks unpaid wages and damages for employees of Yakima, Washington Sunshine Motel Inn [12/08/2015]

Date of Action: Nov. 18, 2015

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Names of Defendants: Sunshine Motel Inn LLC; and Rajiv Sauson, an individual

December 7, 2015

WHD News Brief: US Labor Department recovers more than $342K in unpaid overtime wages, damages for 22 So Cal construction and maintenance employees [12/07/2015]

Employer: Salinas Inc.

Site: 1537 E. McFadden Avenue, Suite G, Santa Ana, California 92705

December 3, 2015

WHD News Brief: Guam contractor to pay $190K in unpaid fringe benefits to employees for federal contract violations [12/03/2015]

Employers: Able Industries of the Pacific, Inc.

Sites: Formerly located at 341 South Marine Corps Drive, Jay Ease Building Suite 204, in Tamuning, Guam. (Business has closed)

Investigation findings: Able Industries failed to pay legally required health and welfare benefits to hundreds of employees who provided dining, janitorial and maintenance services at several facilities at Anderson Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam from 2011 to 2013 in violation of the Service Contract Act.

December 2, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Alabama staffing agency to pay nearly $134K in back wages after denying 218 workers overtime compensation [12/02/2015]

Employer name: NSC Technologies Inc.

Investigation site: 2601 Government St., Mobile, Alabama 36606

December 2, 2015

WHD News Brief: Phoenix-area restaurants to pay more than $105K in overtime back wages and damages to 19 employees working at three locations [12/02/2015]

Employer: Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #1, LLC, Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #2, LLC and Twisted Grove #1, LLC

Sites: Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #1 (8120 N. Hayden, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258); Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #2 (2119 East Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85016); and Twisted Grove Parlor and Bar (8220 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258)