GUAYNABO, PR – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $238,746 in overtime wages owed to 1,024 solar panel and system installers employed by a renewable energy company in Puerto Rico that failed to include various bonuses in their salaries and calculated overtime wages incorrectly.

Employer:      RNR Tire Express

                       1510 E Kimberly Road                     

                        Davenport, IA 52807     

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $167,101 in back wages for 20 workers for a Keene roofing contractor that paid incorrect wages and improper overtime to foreign temporary workers employed through the federal H-2B nonimmigrant program.

HEALDSBURG, CA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found one of four restaurants owned by popular Sonoma County chef Octavio Diaz willfully denied three workers at its Healdsburg establishment of more than $35,000 in overtime wages.

Employer:      El Molino Taqueria 

                             2228 Oak Grove Road

                             Walnut Creek, CA 94598

INDIANAPOLIS – Despite a 2022 federal court judgment requiring him to pay his employees overtime, Tim Paul — owner of eight Indianapolis-area healthcare services companies — continues to use improper pay practices, the U.S. Department of Labor alleges in its request that a federal court hold the employer in contempt for ignoring the 2022 decision.

Employer:      El Compita Mexican Bar and Grill

                            14010 112th Ave., Davenport, IA 52804                         

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court to stop improper employment practices by a Virginia-based IT staffing agency that bind employees to their jobs, extract huge sums from them if they leave the firm and forbid them from engaging in protected activity under federal law.

Employer:                             

Chicanos Inc., operating as Chicanos Cocina Bar and Grill

Investigation site:                  

523 E. Main St., Richmond, VA

Employer name:                Southern Care Connection LLC, operating as #1 in Homecare

Investigation site:            1539 Jackson Ave., Suite 120

                                                    New Orleans, LA 70130   

MANCHESTER, NH – A federal investigation has recovered $912,594 for 44 employees of a Londonderry brewery and restaurant that illegally kept workers’ credit card tips and incorrectly exempted several salaried employees, such as brewers, bartenders, cooks and administrative staff from overtime pay requirements.

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

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The owner of a Benton tavern and restaurant has agreed to comply with a preliminary injunction obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor to stop the employer from violating federal regulations.

The action comes amid allegations that Tim’s Tavern and owner Tim Steppach failed to pay minimum and overtime wages as required, kept workers’ tips, employed children illegally and fired a worker who warned that the department would be notified.

SAN JOSE, CA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that Intuit — a Silicon Valley-based multinational provider of payroll and financial software applications — deprived more than 2,500 employees of more than $555,000 in overtime pay by not keeping accurate pay records and failing to pay for some work hours, including time spent on required training. 

Employer:      JG Adult Family Home LLC

SAN DIEGO, CA – Since 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen a troubling increase in wage theft by customs brokers and freight-forwarding and logistics companies operating near the Mexican border, a trend reflected in three recent investigations in San Diego that recovered nearly $840,000 for 32 employees, some of whom one employer paid less than $3 per hour.

NEWBURY, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor has initiated debt collection procedures against a Newbury landscaping company that allegedly threatened workers for cooperating with a federal investigation that found the company and its owner owes $169,015 in back wages and damages to 19 affected workers. 

SAN DIEGO, CA – Desde 2021, el Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha observado un preocupante aumento de robo de salarios por parte de almacenes y empresas de transporte de carga y logística que operan en la zona de la frontera con México. Esta tendencia se ha visto reflejada en tres investigaciones recientes en San Diego que han resultado en la recuperaron de casi $840.000 dólares para 32 empleados.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in a federal court ordering a City of Industry meat processor and a Downey staffing agency to surrender $327,484 in illegal profits made from sales of products associated with oppressive, exploitative child labor. The judgment also requires the employers to pay the department $62,516 in penalties. 

Employer:       Asian Restaurant Group Inc., operating two restaurants as Max’s of Manila in Hawaii

                              1350 Pine St. #6

                               Boulder, CO 80304