TEMPLE, Texas — A new Wage and Hour Division field office has opened in Temple to connect employees, employers, community organizations and other stakeholders with resources and assistance to ensure compliance with federal wage and hour laws. The field office is located in the W.R. Poage Federal Building at 101 S. Main St., Room 350, Temple, TX 76501.

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WASHINGTON — LinkedIn Corp. has paid $3,346,195 in overtime back wages and $2,509,646 in liquidated damages to 359 former and current employees working at company branches in California, Illinois, Nebraska and New York. An investigation by the U.S.

MARION, Ill. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has determined that Topeka, Kansas-based Assisted Transportation Inc. failed to pay $616,187 in prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime to 52 employees, in violation of the Service Contract Act and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. The employees provided wheelchair van services to veterans, transporting them between their homes and the Marion and Evansville, Indiana, VA Medical Centers.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will offer a comprehensive compliance seminar for employers, community rehabilitation programs and other stakeholders on the rules governing the payment of workers with disabilities under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The seminar will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT at the University of South Carolina Thomas Cooper Library, Ernest F. Hollings Library Program Room, 1322 Greene St., Columbia, S.C. 29208.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Copemish employer Darryl Howes, doing business as Darryl Howes Farms, signed a consent judgment under which he agreed to pay $11,253 in back wages to 36 migrant workers to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor. Howes has agreed to implement enhanced record-keeping procedures to ensure the business complies with the record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

HOUMA, La. — B & D Contracting Inc., a labor recruiting and staffing agency that caters to oil field services and maritime fabrication facilities along the Gulf Coast, has agreed to pay $1,660,438 in back wages to 1,543 current and former employees. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that the company engaged in improper pay and record-keeping practices that resulted in employees being denied overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will offer a comprehensive compliance seminar for employers, community rehabilitation programs and other stakeholders on the rules governing the payment of workers with disabilities under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The seminar will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT at Gateway Tower II Building, 400 State Ave., Room 201, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. There is no charge to attend.

HOUMA, La. — B & D Contracting Inc., a labor recruiting and staffing agency that caters to oil field services and maritime fabrication facilities along the Gulf Coast, has agreed to pay $1,660,438 in back wages to 1,543 current and former employees. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that the company engaged in improper pay and record-keeping practices that resulted in employees being denied overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut resolves a lawsuit filed against S.D. Transportation Services LLC, doing business as Premier Limousine, and owner Stephen DiMarco, by the U.S. Department of Labor in March 2012. Premier Limousine, a Berlin company, will pay a total of $500,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 183 drivers who were denied legally required overtime wages.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — An employee of Nueces Electrical Co-op in Corpus Christi has received $46,920 in back wages and damages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found the company in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordering the restaurant chain Manna's to pay a total of $956,482 in back wages and liquidated damages to 85 low-wage workers following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division. The restaurant chain, owned by Betty Park, Kenny H.

AMARILLO, Texas — Big Texan Steak Ranch has agreed to pay $650,000 in minimum wage back wages and $150,000 in liquidated damages to 279 current and former wait staff following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and record-keeping provisions. Violations stemmed from an illegal tip pooling arrangement by the restaurant.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez announced today a proposed rule extending the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act to all eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages regardless of where they live. The proposal would help ensure that all families will have the flexibility to deal with serious medical and family situations without fearing the threat of job loss. Secretary Perez is proposing this rule in light of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v.

DALLAS — Four restaurants in the Dallas area have agreed to pay $188,970 in back wages to 61 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division that uncovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping provisions. The restaurants are Yes Buffet, Grand Prairie; Crown Buffet and Win Chinese Buffet, Dallas; and Royal Buffet, Rowlett.

VIENNA, W. Va. — Las Trancas Inc., doing business as Las Trancas Mexican Cuisine, a full-service restaurant headquartered in Vienna, will pay a total of $365,834 in back wages to 36 workers employed at two establishments in Clarksburg and Marietta, Ohio. Investigations conducted by the U.S.

WASHINGTON — Fulfilling President Obama's commitment to make 2014 a year of action to strengthen the economy and grow the middle class, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced a proposed rule raising the minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts to $10.10 per hour. The proposed rule implements Executive Order 13658, which was announced by the president on Feb. 12.

LAS VEGAS — The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority has agreed to pay $425,000 in overtime back wages found due to 77 current and former employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. Investigators found the Las Vegas-based state agency in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime and record-keeping provisions. The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority is regulated by the U.S.