BIRMINGHAM, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order to stop an Alexander City manufacturer of Hyundai and Kia auto parts from employing 13-, 14- and 15-year-old workers illegally, and to prevent the company from shipping or delivering any goods produced in violation of federal child labor laws.

HARTFORD, CT – An investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor have resulted in a federal court ordering three bakeries located in Danbury, Connecticut, and Mount Vernon, New York, and their owner/officer to pay nearly $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 74 employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Date of action:                     Sept. 20, 2022

Type of action:                    Judgement

Names of defendants:     Reza's Tower Inc., also known as Reza Oak Brook Inc.

BOSTON – A courier service that allegedly misclassified drivers as independent contractors at its Shrewsbury location and denied them their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act will pay a total of $575,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to the 62 drivers, and ensure future FLSA compliance at all its U.S. locations under a consent judgment the U.S. Department of Labor has obtained.

BOSTON – Un servicio de mensajería que supuestamente clasificaba erróneamente a los conductores como contratistas independientes en su sucursal de Shrewsbury y les negaba sus derechos según la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo pagará un total de $575,000 en salarios atrasados y daños y perjuicios a los 62 conductores y asegurará el cumplimiento futuro de la FLSA en todas sus sucursales en EE. UU.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Office of the Solicitor has extended the deadline for recent law school graduates to apply for its two-year Honors Program in Washington and earn unique experience in one of the federal government’s preeminent legal offices.

LANSDOWNE, PA – A federal court has ordered a Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, diner, and its owner and a manager to pay more than $1.35 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 107 servers and kitchen workers after a five-day trial confirmed the business operators used an illegal tip pool.

BOSTON - Como resultado de una litigación por desacato civil prolongada por parte del Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. contra dos empresas de construcción de Massachusetts, el Tribunal Distrital de EE. UU. por el distrito de Massachusetts aprobó la distribución de $1.8 millones provenientes de las ventas de inmuebles ordenadas por el tribunal y fondos adicionales a 478 trabajadores empleados por Force Corp., AB Construction Group Inc., Juliano Fernandes y Anderson dos Santos.

CHICAGO – After more than two years, a Chicago restaurant owner has finally complied with an administrative subpoena to provide documentation for a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigation. The compliance comes after a federal judge held Wilson Torres, owner of La Bomba Food Restaurant Inc., in contempt and confined him to one night in jail and ordered him to pay $40,500 in fines.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked the Office of Administrative Law Judges to compel federal contractor Rosemount Inc.

ALBANY, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against the former owner of an Albany restaurant after he allegedly tried to intimidate three workers and prevent them from participating in a private class action lawsuit, thus depriving them of their full rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court ruled unanimously on Aug. 22, 2022, that the operator of a Lake County, Minnesota, iron ore mine flagrantly violated the federal Mine Safety and Health Act when it directed miners to work on an elevated walkway known to be unsafe for more than a year.

NORTH BARRINGTON, IL – A Roselle contractor with a long history of federal workplace safety violations who currently owes more than $390,000 in penalties, added an additional $303,105 in proposed fines for once again exposing workers to potential deadly fall hazards at a North Barrington job site.

PERRY, OH – An Ohio nursery owner’s history of violations, coupled with allegations that they intimidated and threatened workers, and denied them their full wages, has led the U.S. Department of Labor to assess $76,278, in penalties and to debar the Perry employer from participating in the federal agricultural visa program for three years.

Date of action:                       Aug. 4, 2022

Type of action:                      Joint stipulation, order for preliminary injunction

MINNEAPOLIS – After a federal investigation found a Golden Valley franchisee of a national chain of home healthcare providers failed to pay overtime to certified nursing and patient care assistants as required by law – and then attempted to mask the violations – the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint in federal court in Minneapolis to recover back wages and damages.

GRAND ISLAND, NE – A 20-year-old worker’s attempt at clearing a jam in an industrial cardboard baler at a Grand Island waste disposal company turned tragic when the worker fell into the baler, became caught and suffered severe amputation injuries. OSHA alleges the employer disregarded federal regulations designed to prevent such tragedies.

NEW YORK –Trustees to the Teamsters Local 272 Welfare Fund in New York City have agreed to amend the fund to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor, regarding a fund requirement that participants bear 90 percent of the cost of medical and pharmacy claims above certain annual thresholds.

MINNEAPOLIS – An administrative law judge has dismissed a Minnesota company’s notice of contest and affirmed the U.S. Department of Labor finding that the employer violated a federal program that allows foreign, non-agricultural workers with H-2B visas to temporarily work in the U.S.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order to prevent two Astoria, New York, discount stores and their owners and manager from threatening workers and obstructing an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.