WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will offer online seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Employer:                                         

Rincon Brewery Inc.

4100 Telegraph Road

Ventura, CA 93003

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $604,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 50 employees of a Virginia Beach home healthcare agency that illegally asked workers to waive their right to receive hard-earned overtime pay.

SACRAMENTO - El equipo de investigación federal de horas y salarios ha visto empresas corruptas intentar todo tipo de estafas para pagar menos salarios al personal y para intimidar o tomar represalias contra el personal, pero el intento de un restaurante del norte de California de usar un supuesto sacerdote para hacer que el personal admita "pecados" en el lugar de trabajo puede estar entre las más desvergonzadas.

LABELLE, FL – Federal investigators have found that a subcontractor employed during construction of a new reservoir pump station on the Caloosahatchee River in Hendry County failed to pay 11 electricians the correct wage rate for the federally supported project, denying them $171,998 in wages and benefits.

FORT WAYNE, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor has taken federal court action against the operator of 10 Fort Wayne-area restaurants that failed to pay $290,000 in back wages and damages to 30 employees.

SACRAMENTO – Federal wage and hour investigators have seen corrupt employers try all kinds of scams to shortchange workers and to intimidate or retaliate against employees but a northern California restaurant’s attempt to use an alleged priest to get employees to admit workplace “sins” may be among the most shameless.

LABELLE, FL - El equipo de investigación federal ha descubierto que un subcontratista empleado durante la construcción de una nueva estación de bombeo de reserva en el río Caloosahatchee en el condado de Hendry no pagaba a 11 electricistas la tarifa de salario correcta para el proyecto con apoyo federal, negándoles $171,998 en concepto de salarios y beneficios.

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment as part of its efforts to recover $650,000 in unpaid overtime wages for 26 delivery drivers of a Santa Fe Springs food manufacturer that misclassified them as independent contractors exempt from overtime.

SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha obtenido un dictamen por consentimiento para la recuperación de $650,000 en salarios de horas extra no pagados a 26 conductores de entrega de productos empleados por un fabricante de alimentos de Santa Fe Springs que los clasificó erróneamente como contratistas independientes exentos al pago de taridas de horas extra.

Employer name:       

Hinton Investigations Inc.

516 Main St.

East Orange, New Jersey 07018

Employer:                              Tipsy Holding II LLC, operating as Tipsy Taco

Investigation sites:               215 Pelham Road, Greenville, SC 29615 – Headquarters

                                                15 Conostee Ave., Greenville, SC 29605

                                                728 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 29609

PHILADELPHIA – A federal court has ordered a Philadelphia home care agency and its owner to pay more than $7 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 1,230 current and former employees after two years of litigation affirmed the U.S. Department of Labor’s finding that the employers willfully failed to pay overtime wages, in most cases by not including employees’ time for work-related travel when calculating wages.

SAN FRANCISCO – Home to thousands of winemakers who produce 80 percent of the wine in the U.S., California vineyards also yield their share of unscrupulous employers who profit by taking advantage of migrant and seasonal farmworkers as the harvest season approaches.

To combat violations that deny workers their hard-earned wages or jeopardize their safety, the U.S. Department of Labor has stepped up its outreach and enforcement efforts in the Golden State.

Employer name:       Petroline Inc., operator of Putnam Truck Stop                                                                                                                                                                           565 Tonnele Ave., Jersey City, New Jersey 07307

NEWTON, KS – After federal investigators found, for the second time in a year, that the owners and operators of 17 Sonic Drive-In locations in Kansas illegally allowed children to work longer and at times not permitted by law, the U.S. District Court of Kansas has ordered the franchisees to stop violating child labor regulations.

MINNEAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court requiring the operator of a home healthcare provider franchise in Golden Valley to pay $121,000 in back overtime wages and liquidated damages to 25 certified nursing and patient care assistants after a federal investigation found the employer denied them overtime pay.

MANCHESTER, NH – When a Vermont employer fired an employee who said they would contact the “labor board” if they did not get paid for job-related travel time, the company violated federal protections against retaliation and found themselves facing costly consequences after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

RENO, NV – Federal investigators have found the operator of six Nevada Sonic Drive-In locations illegally allowed 14- and 15-year-old teenagers to work more hours and at times not permitted by federal child labor regulations and assigned them to operate manual deep fryers, a task considered a hazardous occupation.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S.