DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $103,665 in back wages for 38 workers employed by a Southlake landscaping company that misclassified them as independent contractors and, by doing so, denied them overtime pay.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $450,000 from a Honolulu air cargo carrier that shortchanged 250 employees of their full pay and benefits while fulfilling a $113 million U.S. Postal Service contract to move mail between airports in Hawaii.

Employer:      UMS Heavy Equipment Rental Inc.

                             3415 Maimai Road

Employer:      

DALLAS – Bartenders at two Dallas-area restaurants who depend on good tips in return for great service will recoup $197,902 in earnings after federal investigators found the establishments’ owner and operator forced them to share tips with non-tipped employees illegally.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal consent judgment permanently prohibiting two Astoria discount stores and their owners and manager from threatening workers and obstructing investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. 

DALLAS – Los cantineros de dos restaurantes del área de Dallas que dependen de buenas propinas a cambio de un excelente servicio recuperarán $197,902 en ganancias después de que investigadores federales descubrieron que el dueño y operador de los establecimientos los obligó ilegalmente a compartir propinas con empleados que no recibían propinas.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s investigation of a Bristol restaurant identified 20 child labor violations, including allowing a 15-year-old to use a blowtorch for food preparation and another 15-year-old to clean a meat slicer.

Ed. Note: On Sept. 16, 2024, the quote from Wage and Hour District Director David An was revised.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court judgment requiring 15 gas stations - operating under brands such as BP, Mobil and Sunoco - in Bronx, Nassau and Suffolk counties and their owner and president to pay more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to more than 100 current and former employees in response to a federal investigation. 

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to connect 28 former employees of a Cordele home healthcare company with their share of $65,944 in back wages and liquidated damages recovered after an investigation found the employer denied them overtime wages they earned.

WASHINGTON – As the nation begins Labor Rights Week, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Republic of Colombia today announced the South American country has joined the Consular Partnership Program to raise awareness among Colombians working in the U.S. about regulations protecting them in America’s workplaces. 

LUBBOCK, TX – Many people who work in the restaurant industry depend on tips in exchange for good service which, like quality food at fair prices, can bring customers back and allow their employer to succeed. Despite the need for good service, the U.S. Department of Labor too often finds restaurant employers, including three businesses in Lamesa and Lubbock, withholding tips that legally belong to the people who earned them.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor officials and representatives from the Mexican Embassy and other diplomatic missions joined today to mark Labor Rights Week 2024 with an event promoting migrant workers’ rights and how the department is safeguarding these rights. 

Employer:                              

Swahili Village Bar and Grill,  2 Center St., Newark, NJ  07102

EVANSVILLE, IN – The U.S.

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment to recover $1.3 million in back wages, withheld tips and liquidated damages for 51 workers employed by a Wilkes-Barre restaurant and its owner, whose pay practices illegally deprived workers of their full wages. 

COLUMBIA, SC – The U.S. Department of Labor is encouraging employers and stakeholders in South Carolina’s highway construction industry to participate in a statewide survey to help its Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates for construction workers on federally funded and assisted construction projects.

Employer name:             Turf Paradise Inc.

Investigation site:           41 3rd Ave. 

                                                  Longmont, CO 80501 

Date of action:           July 18, 2024

Type of action:          Administrative Review Board decision, order

Employer names:      Shalimar Distributors LLC, operating as Promised Land Truck Stop

Employers:    Lasting Love Homecare LLC

                             1906 E. Broadway Ave.

                              Bismarck, ND