Employer to pay 63 employees nearly $113K in back wages and damages following Labor Department investigation

Employer name: Fitzhugh Contracting LLC

Investigation site: 30513 Highway 43 South, Gallion, Alabama 36742

Type of Action: Consent Judgment

Name of Defendant: Friends Who Care Inc., Gayle Busselle

Resolution: A total of 76 current and former nurses employed by Friends Who Care Inc. are receiving $176,228 in back wages and liquidated damages under terms of a Consent Judgment entered in federal court in Flint, Michigan, Aug. 14.

Date of Action: Aug. 14, 2015

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act and Migrant and Season Agricultural Worker Protection Act Lawsuit

Names of Defendants: Great Lakes Harvester Corporation and Miguel Rosales Ruiz

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development

NEW YORK — Customers at a busy Manhattan delicatessen, salad and sushi bar probably did not know the deli and its owner were underpaying workers who served them lunch each day.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division of the Village 38 delicatessen at 575 Eighth Ave. found that 575 Market Corp. and its owner, Maria Park, violated the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor, Idaho Department of Labor

Date and Time: Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CDT

Location:

Nashville Tennessee Main Library Conference Center Room #1 615 Church Street Nashville, Tennessee 37219 (The closest parking is in the parking garage adjacent to library)

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Fair Labor Standards Act ensures that employees receive proper wages and overtime for all hours worked. It also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who cooperate with investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Employer: Reliance Electric, Inc.

Site: Bixby, Oklahoma and Hildale, Utah

PHOENIX — For 246 current and former employees of an Arizona cable installation company, a fair day's pay for a fair day's work is finally ringing true as their employer has pay them a total of $350,150 in back wages after failing to pay them overtime rates, as required by federal law.

NEW YORK — The owner and operator of several Brooklyn preschool facilities threatened and tried to force employees to be part of a kickback scheme to fake payment of back wages owed to them, the U.S. Department of Labor has alleged in a federal court complaint.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Name of Defendant: Sanchez Inc., doing business as Rancho Fiesta, Lorenzo Sanchez

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the Mexican cuisine restaurant and shareholder Lorenzo Sanchez, who managed day-to-day operations of the Mansfield, Ohio, establishment, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employer: Aloha House Inc., doing business as Maui Behavioral Health Resources.

Site: 200 Ike Drive, Makawao, Hawaii 96768

Employer: ASAP Auto Glass & Detailing

Site: Albuquerque, N.M.

FARGO, N.D. — A Fargo-based hotel owner who cheated his workers out of their wages must pay more than $180,000 to approximately 200 current and former workers at 15 North Dakota, Montana and Minnesota hotels.

The U.S. District Court of North Dakota has entered a consent judgment ordering Bharat I. Patel to pay back wages and liquidated damages to resolve a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor, Kentucky Labor Cabinet

Description: Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the goal of protecting the rights of employees by preventing their misclassification as independent contractors or other non-employee statuses. Under the agreement, both agencies may share information and coordinate law enforcement.

Employer name: Pegasso Construction & Floor Covering LLC

Investigation site: Office at 1746 Hazel Wood Drive, Marietta, Ga., 30067 and various jobsites including Ft. Gordon army base in Augusta, Ga.

PHILADELPHIA — More than 160 workers at a Philadelphia direct mail and printing company will receive $1.45 million in back wages and damages after a federal investigation found their employer and a staffing agency failed to pay overtime wages.

SAN ANTONIO — Tipped employees may know the value of a hard-earned dollar better than anyone. Every dollar counts in their profession because tips account for all but a small portion of hourly wages. So, when they receive improper minimum wage and overtime pay, it stings. For 82 waiters and kitchen employees of China Sea Restaurants in San Antonio, this happened.

Date and Time: Thursday, July 16, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT

Location:

Charlotte Mecklenburg Main Library Francis Auditorium 310 North Tryon Street Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 (The closest parking is at the 7th Street Station parking deck)