FARGO, N.D. — The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota sued Bharat I. Patel and alleged his failure to pay 192 workers minimum wage and/or overtime rates at 13 hotels he owns in North Dakota and Montana. An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found approximately $100,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages owed to front-desk clerks, housekeeping staff and other hotel employees.

PHOENIX — Uncle Bear's Grill & Bar eateries will pay a total of $115,252 in overtime back wages to 54 employees after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The investigation included locations in Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix, Queen Creek and Surprise.

PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of workers employed by contractors engaged in na

BOISE, Idaho — Chapala Mexican Restaurant, a Boise-area restaurant chain, will pay $230,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 51 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found overtime violations at its Boise, Nampa, Garden City and McCall locations.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that Liverpool employer General Interior Systems Inc., and its president, Jeffrey T. Mento, violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by misclassifying more than 300 employees working as drywall installers as independent contractors and failed to pay them overtime. The department obtained a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York that required payment of $380,000 in back wages to the affected employees.

MINOT, N.D. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that load operators at three Watco Terminal & Port Services' locations in Belfield, Stanley and Tioga were not paid for pre-shift work, as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Watco will pay 261 workers a total of $304,094 in overtime back wages.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a settlement agreement announced by the U.S. Department of Labor, Training Thru Placement Inc., based in North Providence, has agreed to pay a total of $300,000 to more than 100 employees, including workers with disabilities. The settlement resolves findings that, between June 1, 2010, and January 31, 2013, TTP violated the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

NEW YORK — The U.S.

TAMPA, Fla. — A multiyear enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has uncovered widespread labor violations in the central Florida agricultural industry. The initiative focused on hand-harvested crops — including citrus, strawberries, tomatoes, blueberries and watermelons — where many vulnerable migrant workers are employed and recovered average back wages of $340 per worker, more than enough to buy a week's worth of groceries.

OLDSMAR, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Labor has secured $140,393 in back wages and an equal amount of liquidated damages totaling $280,786 for 101 individuals employed by Federal Verification Co. Inc., doing business as GSA Applications based in Oldsmar, Florida. Federal Verification prepares applications for businesses that seek to obtain federal contracts. Nearly $200,000 in wages and damages is due to inside salespeople who made less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Investigations find minimum wage, overtime, housing and transportation violations

WASHINGTON — Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the New Hampshire Department of Labor has signed a memorandum of understanding with the goal of protecting the rights of employees by preventing their misclassification as something other than employees, such as independent contractors or other nonemployee statuses.

US Labor Department finds workers owed more than $3M in most recent year alone

DETROIT — Hot Wheel City Inc. and general manager Nael Abouna signed a consent judgment agreeing to pay 61 Detroit-area employees $97,500 in unpaid wages and damages to resolve a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor. The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, was the result of an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division. The investigation determined that the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay employees minimum wage and overtime and by failing to keep required records.

LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1,914,681.50 in back wages and fringe benefits for 147 workers at Proimtu Mmi-Nv LLC, a Henderson-based subcontractor providing construction services at the federally funded Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Tonopah. This project, which received a $737 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, is a 110 MW solar energy power plant that will power up to 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods.

HOUSTON, Texas — Prime Communications LP, doing business as AT&T Prime Communications LP, has agreed to pay $122,254 in back wages to 255 current and former employees as a result of investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor that found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

ARPIN, Wis. — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Carl's Landscape Service Inc. in Arpin, alleging that the company retaliated against two workers for contacting the department's Wage and Hour Division with a complaint about unpaid overtime.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo area restaurant owner Nicholas Tokles has paid 69 cooks, bartenders and servers a total of $38,425 in back wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions at his restaurants. A consent judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, ordered the payment.

AUSTIN, Texas — A newly upgraded Wage and Hour Division district office has opened in Austin to connect employees, employers, community organizations and other stakeholders with resources and assistance to ensure compliance with federal wage and hour laws. The district office is located in the J.J. Pickle Federal Building at 300 E. 8th St., Suite 865, Austin, 78701.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An ongoing enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division that focused on the agricultural industry in northern and central Florida has uncovered widespread violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the field sanitation standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.