Employer name: Vartek LLC

Investigation site: 6715 North 53rd St., Tampa, Florida 33610

MALVERN, Pa. — For telemarketing workers of a Malvern publishing company, deciding when to take water, bathroom and rest breaks was a matter of dollars and cents. The workers had their pay docked for virtually all time not spent making sales calls, sometimes bringing their wages below the federal minimum wage.

Employers: VLS, LLC doing business as Vegas Limousine Service

Sites: 1400 Commerce Street Las Vegas Nevada 89102

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A translation and interpretation company that provided services to the federal government and other clients violated federal labor laws and underpaid its nationwide corps of interpreters by $1.47 million in wages and benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor says.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After ending their 12-hour shifts, workers at Citgo's Corpus Christi refinery spent an average of 15 minutes briefing incoming workers on the next shift — time that was not compensated.

Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, those employees will receive $460,853 in unpaid overtime wages, or roughly two weeks of income for each of the 239 affected employees.

In the Sparkling City by the Sea, that two-week paycheck pays a mortgage and auto loan for one month.

Employer: Arizona Painting Company LLC

Site: 3235 N. Arizona Avenue, Suite D-10, Chandler, Arizona 85225

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Drivers experience frustrations when stuck in congested traffic areas, such as Los Angeles. Sometimes, other factors test their tolerance, such as spending multiple hours behind the wheel each day for work and not getting paid for all that time, as required by law. That is what happened to 127 workers in Riverside.

CANTON, Ohio — A teenage worker had his left leg amputated below the knee when his employer illegally allowed him to clean a giblet chiller machine at a Canton chicken processing facility.

Date of Action: Nov. 18, 2015

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Names of Defendants: Sunshine Motel Inn LLC; and Rajiv Sauson, an individual

Employer: Leonardo M. Rodriguez, doing business as 3 Amigos Fresh Mexican Grill

Sites: Three Los Angeles-area locations: 365 E. Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks; 20040 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills; and 139 N. Reino Rd., Newbury Park.

Employer: Salinas Inc.

Site: 1537 E. McFadden Avenue, Suite G, Santa Ana, California 92705

Employers: Able Industries of the Pacific, Inc.

Sites: Formerly located at 341 South Marine Corps Drive, Jay Ease Building Suite 204, in Tamuning, Guam. (Business has closed)

Investigation findings: Able Industries failed to pay legally required health and welfare benefits to hundreds of employees who provided dining, janitorial and maintenance services at several facilities at Anderson Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam from 2011 to 2013 in violation of the Service Contract Act.

Employer name: NSC Technologies Inc.

Investigation site: 2601 Government St., Mobile, Alabama 36606

Employer name: Custom Metal Roofing Inc., doing business as B&M Metals

Investigation site: 603 Major Abercrombie Circle, Murrayville, Georgia 30564

Employer: Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #1, LLC, Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #2, LLC and Twisted Grove #1, LLC

Sites: Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #1 (8120 N. Hayden, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258); Grassroots Kitchen and Tap #2 (2119 East Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85016); and Twisted Grove Parlor and Bar (8220 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258)

Date of action: Oct. 30, 2015

Type of action: Consent Judgment

Names of defendant: Optimus Investigations Corp. and Jorge Rivera Berrios

Employer name: Best Health LLC, doing business as Athens Rehab and Senior Care

Investigation site: 6111 West Market St, Athens, Alabama 35611

Employer: Tomasa Rincon-Ibarra, as an individual, and doing business as Tomasita Farm Service

Site: Holualoa, Hawaii

TAMPA, Fla. — La Bella Vida Assisted Living Facility Inc., a Tampa business, and its owner, Mavel Infante, are paying $287,087 in back wages and liquidated damages to 20 workers. Judge Virginia Hernandez Covington of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a judgment against the firm and its owner on Nov. 17.

MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio — A teenage worker's life was altered forever when his Middlefield employer illegally allowed him to operate a wood planer, which amputated a 14-year-old's hand.