July 13, 2021

Grocery store operator pays over $27K in penalties after US Department of Labor finds repeated child labor violations at Maine, New Hampshire locations

MANCHESTER, NH – The operator of two specialty grocery stores in New Hampshire and Maine, has paid $27,274 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor after an investigation found that the employer employed minors to clean power-driven meat mixers and grinders. Federal child labor laws prohibit employees under 18 from cleaning or operating these machines.

July 12, 2021

Mississippi-based contractor pays $52K in back wages, fringe benefits to 45 laborers after US Department of Labor finds federal labor violations

GALLATIN, TN – A Mississippi-based plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor with 10 Southeast locations and nearly 75 years of experience has learned that federal contract wage violations can be costly.

July 8, 2021

Maryland plumbing subcontractor pays $50K in back wages, benefits following US Labor Department investigation

COLUMBIA, MD – A Columbia plumbing subcontractor working on a federally funded project in Washington, D.C. failed to pay workers all the wages they earned, until a U.S. Department of Labor investigation recovered $50,088 in back wages and benefits for four employees. 

July 8, 2021

Farm labor contractor pays $56K in penalties for violating migrant worker, immigration laws after a vehicle accident that injured 14 workers in Maine

 

MANCHESTER, NH – A North Carolina-based tree thinning contractor who employed foreign forestry workers in Maine as fir-tippers has paid a total of $55,810 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve violations of federal laws protecting migrant and seasonal workers, and preventing adverse conditions for U.S. workers. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges ordered the resolution in a decision and order approving consent findings.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $140K in back wages for 66 delivery drivers of Londonderry, Concord pizza restaurants

MANCHESTER, NH – Pizza shops rely on drivers to make timely deliveries to their customers. These drivers depend on their employers to pay them their hard-earned wages, as the law requires. When Checkmate Pizza in Concord and Londonderry failed to deliver all the wages drivers had earned, the U.S. Department of Labor stepped in.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $238K in wages for 26 skilled workers at US Navy installation whose employer incorrectly classified them

SEATTLE Pipe fitters, electricians, forklift operators and carpenters working on two separate federally funded contracts on Naval Base Kitsap failed to receive the prevailing wages and benefits required for their occupations because their employer classified them incorrectly as lower-compensated general laborers.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Chicago towing company denies minimum wage, overtime to employees misclassified as independent contractors

CHICAGO – The operators of a Chicago towing company that promises customers round-the-clock service failed to pay dozens of its workers legally for the hours they worked providing emergency road service. 

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor investigation finds Tennessee supermarket violated child labor laws, leading to amputation of teenager’s arm

CLARKSBURG, TN – When the owners of a Clarksburg supermarket allowed two 16-year-old employees to clean a meat grinder, disaster soon struck. As one boy reached inside the machine, the grinder started and amputated the teenager’s right forearm.

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $78K for 27 North Charleston-area food store workers after investigation finds illegal pay practices

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC Some employees may not understand fully how federal law protects them if their employer fails to pay them as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires, as workers at two North Charleston-area food stores have learned.

July 2, 2021

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on the June Jobs Report

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the June 2021 Employment Situation Report:

July 1, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $1.5M in back wages for 242 home healthcare workers in Pennsylvania, Missouri

HARRISBURG, PA – When an employer shortchanges home healthcare workers they hurt the workers, their families and the people for whom they care. In the case of a Harrisburg home healthcare company, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has remedied overtime violations involving 242 workers and recovered $1,566,457 in hard-earned wages owed to them.

June 30, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $98K for 39 construction workers denied overtime wages by Jamul employer

SAN DIEGO – While the way a Southern California construction company paid employees the first 40 hours each week complied with the Fair Labor Standards Act, federal investigators found the employer’s overtime pay practices did not.

June 30, 2021

Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recupera $98,000 para 39 trabajadores de la construcción a los que empleador de Jamul negó pago de sobretiempo

SAN DIEGO – Aunque una empresa de construcción del Sur de California pagó a sus empleados las primeras 40 horas trabajadas cada semana de acuerdo con la Ley de Normas Razonables de Trabajo,  una investigación federal encontró que las prácticas del empleador respecto al pago de sobretiempo no cumplían con la ley.

June 30, 2021

St. Louis metal finishing company pays $45K in back wages, benefits to employee terminated illegally while on protected leave

ST. LOUIS, MO – The federal Family and Medical Leave Act entitles workers to take unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, so when a St. Louis metal finishing company terminated an employee on protected FMLA leave without notice, the U.S. Department of Labor intervened.

June 29, 2021

Court orders two Minnesota restaurants to pay $435k in back wages following US Department of Labor investigation

MINNEAPOLIS – Imagine being on your feet 60 hours a week serving customers but getting paid for just 30, or working more than 10 hours a day as a cook or dishwasher for a flat salary and being denied minimum wage and overtime protections because your employer wrongly classified you as an independent contractor and not as an employee.

June 24, 2021

US Department of Labor to host webinar for Southeastern construction contractors seeking, working on federal contracts

RALEIGH, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor encourages construction companies and contractors in the Southeast that hold federal contracts or have an interest in obtaining one to take advantage of an upcoming educational webinar on Tuesday, June 29 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. EDT.

June 23, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers more than $50K in back wages for 54 caregivers at Mississippi home healthcare service

MATHISTON, MS – Home healthcare providers expect their workers to meet their clients’ many daily needs. In turn, these workers count on their employers to pay them fairly and legally so they may care for themselves and their families. A recent federal investigation found a Mathiston provider failed to pay its employees overtime and minimum wages as the law requires.

June 22, 2021

US Department of Labor announces dialogue to promote employment equity for women workers

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor announced today’s launch of a national online dialogue to gather ideas to improve labor outcomes for women, especially economically disadvantaged women. The dialogue will be open until July 9.

June 22, 2021

US Department of Labor education, enforcement initiative seeks to increase Southeast grocery industry’s compliance

ATLANTA – During the pandemic, grocery store workers were among those on the front lines whose jobs put them in close contact with others – putting them at greater risk for contracting the coronavirus – while they ensured their neighbors had access to essential goods and services. In return, some of these workers, including many minors, faced wage violations or other workplace hazards.

June 22, 2021

Miramar Beach restaurant pays $108K in back wages, penalties following US Department of Labor investigation

MIRAMAR BEACH, FL The U.S. Department of Labor has found an upscale Miramar Beach restaurant again violating federal minimum wage and overtime laws, and redirecting a portion of servers’ tips to non-tipped workers illegally.