June 30, 2015

WHD News Release: Indianapolis grocery store and restaurant chain underpaid workers again [06/30/2015]

INDIANAPOLIS — The great service, authentic Mexican food and unique groceries found at three Carniceria Guanajuato Mexican grocery stores and restaurants in Indianapolis inspire customers to post rave reviews at websites like Yelp and Urbanspoon.

Behind their smiles, the hard-working people who bake specialty breads, butcher prime meat, wait and bus tables and operate the registers at these establishments struggle to meet basic needs on the low wages earned. Their challenge only worsens when their employer does not pay them for all hours worked.

June 22, 2015

WHD News Release: Federal enforcement effort finds more than 3,000 Gulf Coast workers owed nearly $3.5 million in back wages by staffing agencies [06/22/2015]

NEW ORLEANS — Six Gulf Coast staffing agencies have agreed to pay thousands of workers nearly $3.5 million in back wages after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found part of their wages were mislabeled as "per diem" payments as reimbursement for expenses they never incurred.

Federal investigators found the agencies owed back wages to more than 3,000 workers – welders, electricians, pipe fitters, and other craftspeople – on maritime vessels and other oil and gas industry projects.

June 22, 2015

WHD News Release: As widespread bridge repair and replacement effort continues in Oklahoma the US Labor Department steps up labor law education and enforcement [06/22/2015]

OKLAHOMA CITY — Heavy construction in Oklahoma continues to boom as the state's Department of Transportation repairs or replaces aging bridges and roads. An influx of contractors brings new jobs and often a host of labor law violations that apply to these projects.

June 18, 2015

WHD News Release: US Labor Department investigation recovers nearly $355K for 25 workers owed back wages by Mexican food restaurant in Mankato, Minnesota [06/18/2015]

MANKATO, Minn. — Twenty-five employees of a Minnesota restaurant will receive almost $355,000 in back wages after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found that the eatery violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

June 15, 2015

WHD News Release: US Labor Department initiative in Midwest college towns finds workers at Ann Arbor, Michigan, restaurants owed nearly $150K in back wages [06/15/2015]

Violations found by investigators will help more than 100 restaurant and hotel workers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At a University of Michigan Wolverines' home game, 109,000 college football fans often cram into "The Big House," the stadium known to hold nearly all Ann Arbor residents. Game weekends mean an increased demand for workers at packed bars, restaurants and hotels.

June 15, 2015

WHD News Release: San Antonio oil workers due $157K in back wages benefit from US Labor Department enforcement effort [06/15/2015]

SAN ANTONIO — The latest investigation in the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ongoing enforcement initiative, focused on the oil and gas industry in New Mexico and Texas, has helped 188 workers who will receive $157,000 in back wages after investigators found their employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Wage and Hour Division investigators in the San Antonio District Office found that Elite Production Services LLC failed to include the workers' bonus payments when calculating their rates of pay for overtime hours.

June 15, 2015

WHD News Release: Ashland, Nebraska, produce farm owes 94 workers more than $68K in back wages, US Labor Department investigation finds [06/15/2015]

More than $89K in penalties also assessed for H-2A violations

ASHLAND, Neb. — Farmworkers harvesting melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash on a Nebraska farm labored long hours to put fresh produce on Midwestern tables, but were denied the wages they earned and were legally entitled to receive when their employer failed to follow the law.

June 15, 2015

WHD News Brief: Restaurant pays nearly $113K in tips, back wages and damages to 120 employees following U.S. Labor Department investigation in Hawaii [06/15/2015]

Employer: Calmaui Inc., doing business as Pineapple Grill at Kapalua

Site: 200 Kapalua Dr., Lahaina, Hawaii 96761

June 10, 2015

WHD News Brief: US Department of Labor files suit alleging Columbus, Ohio, day care workers did not earn minimum wage or overtime pay [06/10/2015]

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Name of Defendant: Here to Help Learning Academy LLC and Michele Blake in Columbus, Ohio

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the Columbus, Ohio-based Here to Help Learning Academy LLC violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

June 8, 2015

WHD News Brief: Tucson restaurant/garage to return more than $34K in overtime, damages [06/08/2015]

Employer: Hot Rods Restaurant Inc. and Hot Rods Garage Inc., doing business as Hotrods Old Vail

Site: 10500 East Old Vail Road, Tucson, Arizona

June 8, 2015

WHD News Brief: Portland roofing company to return nearly $38K in overtime wages to 32 workers [06/08/2015]

Employer: Ri-Ky Roofing

Sites: 10213 NE Marx St., Portland, Oregon

June 4, 2015

WHD News Release: Staples to pay fired employee $275K in wages, benefits and damages after failing to inform him of job protections to care for ill family member [06/04/2015]

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jeffrey Angstadt didn't want days off to relax. In September 2010 and over the months that followed, the furniture sales executive told his employer, Staples Contract and Commercial, Inc., a subsidiary of Staples, Inc., that he needed to take leave to care for his critically ill wife. While Angstadt was eligible for federal workplace protections for those coping with the illness of a family member, no one at Staples notified him as the law requires.

June 3, 2015

WHD News Brief: Three Shogun Japanese Steakhouse restaurants agree to pay 67 employees $275K in back wages and damages for improper pay practices [06/03/2015]

Employer name: Shogun Japanese Steakhouse Inc., and Shogun Japanese Steakhouse of Louisville Inc.

Investigation site: 3991 University Drive, Huntsville, Alabama, 4110 Hampton Lake Way and 9026 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, Kentucky

June 3, 2015

WHD News Release: Deval LLC to pay more than $288K in fringe benefits, prevailing wages to 58 Dallas workers following US Department of Labor investigation [06/03/2015]

DALLAS — Deval LLC, a federal contractor for loan servicing support, did not pay its employees the prevailing wages or fringe benefits they rightfully earned under the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has found. The company has a contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

June 3, 2015

WHD News Brief: Phoenix construction company to pay workers $52K in back wages [06/03/2015]

Employer: Andale Construction Inc.

Site: 3410 West Adams Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85009

June 2, 2015

WHD News Release: Federal subcontractor pays 58 workers more than $99K in back wages in Hawaii after US Labor Department investigation [06/02/2015]

HONOLULU — A California-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning subcontractor has paid 58 workers $99,681 in back wages after an investigation found federal wage and hour laws were violated on three federally funded construction projects awarded by the U.S. Army in Hawaii between 2011 and 2013.

June 1, 2015

WHD News Brief: Federal contractor pays nearly half of a million dollars in back wages to 204 detention officers [06/01/2015]

Employer name: PTS of America LLC doing business as Prisoner Transportation Services of America, Nashville, Tennessee

Investigation sites: PTS corporate headquarters, Nashville, Tennessee; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Mesa, Arizona; Alexandria International Airport, Alexandria, Louisiana; and San Antonio International Airport, San Antonio, Texas.

June 1, 2015

WHD News Release: Investigations find Utah construction workers underpaid by nearly $2M [06/01/2015]

SALT LAKE CITY — For construction workers, every dollar is hard-earned. Harder still is accepting that their employers cheated them out of earned wages by violating their rights. With the help of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, more than 2,700 Utah construction workers are getting the wages they deserve.

June 1, 2015

WHD News Brief: U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division to offer free compliance seminar in Manhattan on June 3 [06/01/2015]

Date and Time: June 3, 2015 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

Location: Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, Conference Room J, New York, N.Y. 10278