ATLANTA – In what may be the largest misclassification case in its history, the U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court to force a Florida-based customer service provider for major national brands, including Barnes & Noble, Comcast, Disney and Walgreens, to pay back wages and liquidated damages to more than 22,000 workers after investigators found the employer misclassified employees as independent contractors and denied them their legally required minimum wage and overtime pay.

PORTLAND, ME – A federal administrative law judge has determined that Shawn D. Purvis, doing business as Purvis Home Improvement Co. Inc., willfully exposed employees to fall hazards at roofing worksites in Portland, Old Orchard Beach and Springvale between December 2018 and May 2019.

GEORGETOWN, DE – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a Delaware salvage yard company and its owner after a federal whistleblower investigation found the company fired a smelter operator for reporting safety concerns.

MINNEAPOLIS – Following a five-day jury trial, a federal district court in Minneapolis has awarded $254,628 in back wages and liquidated damages to 21 drivers after the U.S. Department of Labor determined their employer, a non-emergency medical transportation company, misclassified them as independent contractors denying them overtime pay.

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $771,022 in back wages and $61,215 in liquidated damages for 47 workers of a Haverhill landscaping company after the employer failed to comply with requirements of the federal H-2B worker program and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The H-2B Worker Program permits businesses to employ temporary visa workers for limited periods of time.

HERMITAGE, TN – A federal court in Nashville has affirmed the findings of an investigation that determined a Tennessee security and traffic control services provider and its owner misclassified 105 workers as independent contractors, including some who worked as security guards in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

SCHAUMBURG, IL – An administrative law judge has ordered a Schaumburg residential and commercial swimming pool company to pay $312,561 in back wages to 26 workers, employed under a federal guest worker visa program, after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer failed to comply with the H-2B guest worker visa program.

Date of action:  June 13, 2023

Type of action:  Fair Labor Standards Act consent order and permanent injunction

Names of defendants:   811 Autoworks LLC, operating as AOK Walker Luxury Autoworks 

FORT WAYNE, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor has taken federal court action against the operator of 10 Fort Wayne-area restaurants that failed to pay $290,000 in back wages and damages to 30 employees.

SACRAMENTO - El equipo de investigación federal de horas y salarios ha visto empresas corruptas intentar todo tipo de estafas para pagar menos salarios al personal y para intimidar o tomar represalias contra el personal, pero el intento de un restaurante del norte de California de usar un supuesto sacerdote para hacer que el personal admita "pecados" en el lugar de trabajo puede estar entre las más desvergonzadas.

SACRAMENTO – Federal wage and hour investigators have seen corrupt employers try all kinds of scams to shortchange workers and to intimidate or retaliate against employees but a northern California restaurant’s attempt to use an alleged priest to get employees to admit workplace “sins” may be among the most shameless.

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha obtenido un dictamen por consentimiento para la recuperación de $650,000 en salarios de horas extra no pagados a 26 conductores de entrega de productos empleados por un fabricante de alimentos de Santa Fe Springs que los clasificó erróneamente como contratistas independientes exentos al pago de taridas de horas extra.

NEWTON, KS – After federal investigators found, for the second time in a year, that the owners and operators of 17 Sonic Drive-In locations in Kansas illegally allowed children to work longer and at times not permitted by law, the U.S. District Court of Kansas has ordered the franchisees to stop violating child labor regulations.

MINNEAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court requiring the operator of a home healthcare provider franchise in Golden Valley to pay $121,000 in back overtime wages and liquidated damages to 25 certified nursing and patient care assistants after a federal investigation found the employer denied them overtime pay.

MANCHESTER, NH – When a Vermont employer fired an employee who said they would contact the “labor board” if they did not get paid for job-related travel time, the company violated federal protections against retaliation and found themselves facing costly consequences after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Date of Action:          May 25, 2023 

Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act consent order and judgment

Company/Owners:    Chicago Metropolitan Obstetricians and Gynecologists Ltd.

Employer:        10-Code, LLC

                          201 Slate Drive Suite #6

                          Bismarck, ND

Fecha de la acción:               3 de abril de 2023

Tipo de acción:                      Denuncia:

Date of action:                       April 3, 2023

Type of action:                      Complaint

PLAINS TOWNSHIP, PA – A federal district court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania has issued a consent judgment ordering a Luzerne County paper box manufacturer and its owner to pay a former employee $13,000 after the U.S.