PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Restaurant workers put in long, grueling hours on-the-job, yet they are among the lowest paid workers in the U.S. Making ends meet is hard enough when they're paid properly, but it's nearly impossible when their employer does not pay them for all hours worked.

INDIANAPOLIS — The great service, authentic Mexican food and unique groceries found at three Carniceria Guanajuato Mexican grocery stores and restaurants in Indianapolis inspire customers to post rave reviews at websites like Yelp and Urbanspoon.

Behind their smiles, the hard-working people who bake specialty breads, butcher prime meat, wait and bus tables and operate the registers at these establishments struggle to meet basic needs on the low wages earned. Their challenge only worsens when their employer does not pay them for all hours worked.

NEW ORLEANS — Six Gulf Coast staffing agencies have agreed to pay thousands of workers nearly $3.5 million in back wages after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found part of their wages were mislabeled as "per diem" payments as reimbursement for expenses they never incurred.

Federal investigators found the agencies owed back wages to more than 3,000 workers – welders, electricians, pipe fitters, and other craftspeople – on maritime vessels and other oil and gas industry projects.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Heavy construction in Oklahoma continues to boom as the state's Department of Transportation repairs or replaces aging bridges and roads. An influx of contractors brings new jobs and often a host of labor law violations that apply to these projects.

MANKATO, Minn. — Twenty-five employees of a Minnesota restaurant will receive almost $355,000 in back wages after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found that the eatery violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Violations found by investigators will help more than 100 restaurant and hotel workers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At a University of Michigan Wolverines' home game, 109,000 college football fans often cram into "The Big House," the stadium known to hold nearly all Ann Arbor residents. Game weekends mean an increased demand for workers at packed bars, restaurants and hotels.

SAN ANTONIO — The latest investigation in the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ongoing enforcement initiative, focused on the oil and gas industry in New Mexico and Texas, has helped 188 workers who will receive $157,000 in back wages after investigators found their employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Wage and Hour Division investigators in the San Antonio District Office found that Elite Production Services LLC failed to include the workers' bonus payments when calculating their rates of pay for overtime hours.

More than $89K in penalties also assessed for H-2A violations

ASHLAND, Neb. — Farmworkers harvesting melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash on a Nebraska farm labored long hours to put fresh produce on Midwestern tables, but were denied the wages they earned and were legally entitled to receive when their employer failed to follow the law.

Employer: Calmaui Inc., doing business as Pineapple Grill at Kapalua

Site: 200 Kapalua Dr., Lahaina, Hawaii 96761

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Name of Defendant: Here to Help Learning Academy LLC and Michele Blake in Columbus, Ohio

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the Columbus, Ohio-based Here to Help Learning Academy LLC violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employer: Hot Rods Restaurant Inc. and Hot Rods Garage Inc., doing business as Hotrods Old Vail

Site: 10500 East Old Vail Road, Tucson, Arizona

Employer: Ri-Ky Roofing

Sites: 10213 NE Marx St., Portland, Oregon

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jeffrey Angstadt didn't want days off to relax. In September 2010 and over the months that followed, the furniture sales executive told his employer, Staples Contract and Commercial, Inc., a subsidiary of Staples, Inc., that he needed to take leave to care for his critically ill wife. While Angstadt was eligible for federal workplace protections for those coping with the illness of a family member, no one at Staples notified him as the law requires.

Employer name: Shogun Japanese Steakhouse Inc., and Shogun Japanese Steakhouse of Louisville Inc.

Investigation site: 3991 University Drive, Huntsville, Alabama, 4110 Hampton Lake Way and 9026 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky

DALLAS — Deval LLC, a federal contractor for loan servicing support, did not pay its employees the prevailing wages or fringe benefits they rightfully earned under the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has found. The company has a contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Employer: Andale Construction Inc.

Site: 3410 West Adams Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85009

Employer: G R Produce

Site: McAllen, Texas

HONOLULU — A California-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning subcontractor has paid 58 workers $99,681 in back wages after an investigation found federal wage and hour laws were violated on three federally funded construction projects awarded by the U.S. Army in Hawaii between 2011 and 2013.

Employer name: PTS of America LLC doing business as Prisoner Transportation Services of America, Nashville, Tennessee

Investigation sites: PTS corporate headquarters, Nashville, Tennessee; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Mesa, Arizona; Alexandria International Airport, Alexandria, Louisiana; and San Antonio International Airport, San Antonio, Texas.

SALT LAKE CITY — For construction workers, every dollar is hard-earned. Harder still is accepting that their employers cheated them out of earned wages by violating their rights. With the help of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, more than 2,700 Utah construction workers are getting the wages they deserve.