ALLEN PARK, MI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Michigan-based automotive tire and service retail chain Belle Tire has agreed to pay $342,926 in back wages to 1,207 employees at 100 locations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

DUNN, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has debarred Worldwide Staffing LLC from applying for H-2A certifications for three years following violations of the visa program’s requirements and a failure to pay back wages owed to employees. The company failed to reimburse employees for their inbound travel expenses from their home countries, as the law requires, and owed $58,458 in back wages to 200 employees. WHD assessed the staffing company a civil penalty of $17,309 because of the violations.

PHOENIX, AZ – After a June 2017 U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found 69 Mexican guest workers living in a life-threatening housing encampment at an El Mirage farm, the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Phoenix has entered judgments against a grower and its recruiting agents for violations of the H-2A guest worker program.

CLARKSTON, MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Summit Properties & Development Co. Inc., based in Clarkston, Michigan, will pay a total of $137,237 in back wages and liquidated damages to 17 employees.

WHD investigators determined the general contractor misclassified some employees as independent contractors, and failed to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – An education and enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has recovered $2,079,596 in back wages and liquidated damages for 87 attendants working at 25 southern New Jersey gas stations since January 2017. This payment resolves violations found during a series of investigations by the WHD.

WILKES-BARRE, PA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the owners of a chain of Pennsylvania bar and grill restaurants have paid $750,007 in back wages and liquidated damages. In a settlement agreement with the Department, Arooga’s Grille House and Sports Bar agreed to pay current and former servers, cooks, and assistant kitchen managers in York, Camp Hill, Lower Paxton, Mechanicsburg, Hanover and Harrisburg for minimum wages and overtime not paid to them over a 30-month period.

GUAYNABO, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) continues to investigate wage issues on St. Croix and St. Thomas and provide compliance assistance related to recovery efforts following Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

FLAGSTAFF, AZ – Major League Painting Inc. will pay $242,618 in back wages and liquidated damages to 70 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

CHICAGO, IL – Consistent with its mission to protect the American workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor has revoked Rock River Valley Self Help Enterprises, Inc.’s certificate under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) after finding nearly 250 workers with disabilities were being exploited.

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) opened registration for a comprehensive compliance seminar for federal contractors, unions, and workers on the rules governing federal prevailing wage requirements. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required.

WHD will hold the training on June 12-14 at the Holiday Inn-Country Club Plaza, One E 45th St., in Kansas City.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) urges heavy construction employers in 10 metropolitan Utah counties to participate in a wage survey to help establish prevailing wage rates as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. 

WHD is collecting data on wages paid to workers on all heavy construction projects active from Aug. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2017. The survey is not limited to federally funded projects.

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI – Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Metropolitan Concrete Corp. will pay $73,647 in back wages to 15 employees working under the H-2B non-immigrant visa program, which provides for the admission of non-immigrants to the U.S. to perform temporary non-agricultural labor or services.

WESTBURY, NY – After an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Farmingdale Auto Collision Inc. and its owner and officers have paid $306,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 21 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

LOS ANGELES, CA – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found overtime and minimum wage violations, prompting the Department to invoke a “hot goods” legal action, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent a Los Angeles garment manufacturer from shipping clothes to retailer Charlotte Russe.

BLUEFIELD, WV - The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has entered a consent judgment requiring Lambert Construction of Bluefield Inc. to pay $116,818 in back wages and liquidated damages to 45 employees. Additionally, the Bluefield, West Virginia, construction company will pay $16,000 in civil penalties to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has ordered Gary Tetone, owner of Southern California-based company GT Drywall, to comply with U.S. Department of Labor investigators in a long-running Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation with which he has refused to cooperate since 2016.

GREEN BAY, WI – In an effort to inform employers and employees about federal wage laws, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is engaged in an education and enforcement initiative at Green Bay-area restaurants. WHD is focused on providing compliance assistance information to employers and industry stakeholders through educational outreach events, as well as conducting investigations at individual restaurants.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced today that it has issued three new opinion letters.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has established a hotline for 1,471 current and former Houlihan’s employees of 17 of the restaurant chain’s New Jersey and New York locations to assist them in recovering back wages and liquidated damages.

GUAYNABO, PR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), fuel distributor Macro Companies Inc., engaged in hurricane recovery activities in Puerto Rico, has paid $1,151,291 in back wages to 219 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA), the fringe benefits provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and the recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).