U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in National Educational Enterprise Paying $411,478 to 485 Employees

PHOENIX, AZ – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Dream Center Education Holdings – a national educational enterprise based in Chandler, Arizona – has paid $411,478 in back wages to 485 employees after missed payroll resulted in minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD found Dream Center Education Holdings – then operating under multiple institutional names nationwide – failed to pay employees at least the federal minimum wage and overtime required by the FLSA when it failed to issue employees their final paychecks when it ceased operations in 2019.

“Employees have the right to receive all the wages they have earned,” said Wage and Hour District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix, Arizona. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to enforcing the law and educating employers to ensure employees can exercise their Fair Labor Standards Act rights. We encourage workers who believe they may not have been paid properly and employers with questions about their legal responsibilities to reach out to us to speak directly with a trained Wage and Hour professional.”

The department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA  and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, 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 www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.