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).

ALBANY, NY – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Georgia contractor Infinite Services and Solutions and its president, Khary Lewis, who provided transportation services for the U.S. Army in New York and Arizona, have been placed on a list of bidders ineligible for federal contracts for a period of three years as a result of violations of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

CHATTANOOGA, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Chattanooga-based Chao’s Mongolian Grill LLC will pay $48,197 in back wages to eight employees for violations of the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

FRESNO, CA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Central Valley garlic grower Valley Garlic Inc. and its farm labor contractor X-Treme Ag Labor Inc. have signed consent judgments, entered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Fresno. The U.S. Department of Labor sued Valley Garlic Inc. and X-Treme Ag Labor Inc. for being jointly responsible in a June 2015 crash that took the lives of four farmworkers who were being transported to work, including a 16-year-old minor.

WASHINGTON, DC – With the inclusion of key provisions related to America’s tipped workers included in the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) to address WHD’s enforcement of tip credit rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHITES CREEK, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee has ordered Music City Masonry Contractors LLC and its owners, Brandy George and Robin “Bubba” Waller, to pay $493,987 in back wages and liquidated damages to 247 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

TAMPA, FL – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division into rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma have resulted in 11 roofing companies paying $239,893 in back wages to 259 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

CAMDEN, NJ – Two companies that operate 17 Houlihan’s franchisee restaurants in New Jersey and New York and their owner Arnold Runestad will pay $5,000,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 1,471 current and former employees to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The agreement is part of a consent judgment filed on April 2, 2018, that is pending review and approval by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

LUMBERTON, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina has ordered Del Sol Partnership 2 Inc. and its owner, Pablo Salgado, to pay $144,884 in back wages and liquidated damages to 15 employees for violating the overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

HONOLULU, HI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, the owners of four Ichiriki Japanese Nabe Restaurants on Oahu will pay $60,721 in overtime owed to 62 employees to resolve pay violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ATLANTA, GA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Insight Global LLC will pay $354,978 in back wages to 14 employees for violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA). The Atlanta-based staffing and consulting company committed the violations during performance as a subcontractor to Hewlett Packard on an information technology contract with the U.S. Department of the Navy.

WESTBURY, NY – After an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has ordered Casa Concrete Inc., a provider of concrete services, and its officers, Alice Fernandes and Manuel Fernandes, to pay $412,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 20 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

SAN DIEGO, CA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, the Department has reached a settlement with A&D General Contracting Inc., the prime contractor on two federally funded local projects, to pay 16 landscaping employees $52,969 in back wages after its subcontractor Amigos Design Build Landscapes Inc. failed to pay legally required prevailing wages and later declared bankruptcy.

SEATTLE, WA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, Rivera Orchards Inc. has paid $19,297 in penalties to resolve Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) violations that posed a direct and imminent threat to its employees.

PHOENIX, AZ – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, the U.S. District Court of Arizona entered a consent judgment that requires Scottsdale construction contractor MNI Enterprises Inc. to pay $214,392 in back wages to 145 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court also ordered the employer to pay an additional $25,608 in penalties because of the willful and repeated nature of the violations found.

URBANDALE, IA – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, majority owner of two Iowa restaurants Gloria Ochoa has paid $833,992 in back wages to 64 employees to resolve federal wage violations, including falsifying payroll and time records and failing to pay required minimum wages and overtime. Wage and Hour Division investigators determined that Ochoa, majority owner of Rojas LLC and Ocha Inc., which do business as El Rodeo Mexican Restaurants in Urbandale and in Clive, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has developed a series of helpful instructional videos that provide valuable assistance to employers and further ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to the benefit of the American workforce.

ELKINS, WV – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation, a federal jury has entered a verdict against Randolph County Sheltered Workshop Inc. - doing business as Seneca Designs - and ordered the Elkins nonprofit to pay $119,040 in back wages to 34 employees. Entered in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia-Elkins Division, the investigation found that the organization violated the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

MEMPHIS, TN – After an investigation by U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee has ordered Capital Construction Inc. and its owner, Justin B. Herter, to pay $188,244 in back wages and liquidated damages to 37 employees for violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).