SUFFOLK, VA – A Suffolk construction staffing agency and its owner who intentionally misclassified workers as independent contractors – a serious form of wage theft – must pay $278,073, in back wages and liquidated damages to 208 construction workers following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule to amend H-2A temporary labor certification regulations to protect agricultural workers better, and to update the H-2A application and temporary labor certification process. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on Oct. 12, 2022.

CHESAPEAKE, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment to recover $703,609 in back wages and liquidated damages for 38 employees denied overtime pay by a Chesapeake home healthcare company and its owner who also retaliated against workers for cooperating with federal investigators.

NEWTON, KS – For many teens, working at a fast-food restaurant is a first job. For 50 teens – ages 14 and 15 – working at three Sonic drive-in locations near Wichita – that meant being employed in excess of the number of hours allowed by child labor laws and during nighttime hours not permitted by law, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found. 

HARTFORD, CT – An investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor have resulted in a federal court ordering three bakeries located in Danbury, Connecticut, and Mount Vernon, New York, and their owner/officer to pay nearly $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 74 employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is asking Florida highway construction industry employers to participate in a survey to help the department’s Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates, as required by federal law.

BOSTON – A courier service that allegedly misclassified drivers as independent contractors at its Shrewsbury location and denied them their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act will pay a total of $575,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to the 62 drivers, and ensure future FLSA compliance at all its U.S. locations under a consent judgment the U.S. Department of Labor has obtained.

BOSTON – Un servicio de mensajería que supuestamente clasificaba erróneamente a los conductores como contratistas independientes en su sucursal de Shrewsbury y les negaba sus derechos según la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo pagará un total de $575,000 en salarios atrasados y daños y perjuicios a los 62 conductores y asegur

Date of action:                     Sept. 20, 2022

Type of action:                    Judgement

Names of defendants:     Reza's Tower Inc., also known as Reza Oak Brook Inc.

                                                     Reza and Ryan Toulabi

Court:                                       U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois

Employer:                                   Heart2Heart Homecare Service Inc.

Investigation site:                  483 John R. Junkin Drive

                                                          Natchez, MS 39120

Participant:   Louisiana Workforce Commission

Address:           Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TULSA, OK – A federal investigation into the pay practices of a Tulsa security company has recovered $103,979, in back wages for 55 current and former employees denied their rights to overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek.

SAN JOSE, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has assessed $139,398, in penalties to a Silicon Valley delivery company that brings consumers specialty foods from well-known restaurants, bakeries, cafes and other California providers for hiring dozens of minor-aged workers as drivers, a prohibited occupation under federal child labor laws.

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment that will recover $9.3 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 1,756 employees of a Philadelphia healthcare staffing company that misclassified them and willfully denied their hard-earned overtime pay.

Employer:                                   Stat Etc. Inc.

                                                         Operating as Queen City Home and Medical Staffing

Investigation site:                  530 E. Innes St.

                                                         Salisbury, NC 28144

Employer name:                    Omega Drywall Company Inc.                                        

Investigation site:                  3010 Eula Morgan Road

                                                         Katy, TX 77493

Employer name:                   Primeforce Inc., operating as Elite Workforce Management

Investigation site:                9301 Frazier Pike

                                                        Little Rock, AR 72206

Nombre del empleador:                   Omega Drywall Company Inc.

Lugar de investigación:                    3010 Eula Morgan Road

                                                                       Katy, TX 77493