Federal Court Grants Motion Sanctioning Missouri Child Care Centers for Failing to Comply with U.S. Labor Department Subpoena

ST. LOUIS, MO – The U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Missouri has ordered Kinder Kidz LLC and Teach Me Kidz Academy LLC – based in St. Louis, Missouri – to pay a $50 daily fine for failing to comply with the Court’s Orders requiring them to respond to federal subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to determine compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The fines began May 6, 2019, and will continue daily until the child care centers comply with the federal court’s June 22, 2018, order to comply with WHD subpoenas issued in October and December of 2017.

The court also assigned responsibility for repayment of $1,719 in reasonable attorney’s fees in connection with the court’s proceedings to the employer.

“Complying with U.S. Department of Labor subpoenas is not optional,” said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Michael Lazzeri, in Chicago, Illinois. “This case demonstrates the Department’s commitment to ensuring employers comply with the law and that employees receive the wages they have earned.”

WHD provides a wide variety of compliance assistance tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and employees understand their rights.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.