SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S.

Employer name:                    Whataburger Restaurant LLC                                        

Investigation site:                 7201 Quaker Ave.

                                                Lubbock, TX 79424                                      

SUMMERVILLE, OR – A federal contractor in Oregon misclassified dozens of workers – who battled some of the nation’s worst wildfires an average of 70 hours a week in 2020 and 2021 – as independent contractors and denied them their full wages and benefits as a result, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

BRADENTON BEACH, FL – A federal investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $60,065 in back wages and liquidated damages for a former employee of a Bradenton Beach restaurant that forced them back to work the same day of their hospital discharge — despite doctor’s orders not to do so for three days — and terminated their employment less than a week later.

SAN DIEGO – A federal investigation of a San Diego environmental remediation and demolition contractor’s pay practices has recovered $363,444 in back wages and liquidated damages for 125 employees denied their rightful overtime and minimum wages.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $91,097 in unpaid wages and liquidated damages for workers employed by a Kapolei restaurant that allowed its managers to pocket some of the tips earned by its servers, cooks and kitchen helpers.

Employer:        10-Code, LLC

                          201 Slate Drive Suite #6

                          Bismarck, ND

PORTLAND, OR – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $167,179 in back wages and liquidated damages for 43 workers employed by an Oregon agricultural grower and manufacturer who failed to pay overtime to the workers, some of whom worked as many as 75 hours per week.

Employer:                                          Topgolf USA Hillsboro LLC

Investigation sites:                            5505 NE Huffman St.

                                                            Hillsboro, OR  97124

Date of action:                       April 3, 2023

Type of action:                      Complaint

Names of defendants:           EM Policia Privada Inc.; its successor Vigilancia Virtual y Policia Privada LLC; Israel Martínez Gutiérrez, individually Carmen Hernandez Rosa, individually; and Daniel Vargas, individually.

Fecha de la acción:               3 de abril de 2023

Tipo de acción:                      Denuncia:

Nombres de los acusados:    EM Policía Privada Inc.; su sucesora Vigilancia Virtual y Policía Privada LLC; Israel Martínez Gutiérrez, de forma individual, Carmen Hernandez Rosa, de forma individual; y Daniel Vargas, de forma individual.

FORT LEE, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $300,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 63 workers at a Fort Lee restaurant after an investigation found the employer’s pay practices violated federal minimum wage and overtime regulations.

SAN JOSE, CA – A federal investigation has recovered $211,064 in back wages and liquidated damages for 16 people employed by the owners and operators of three Bay Area assisted living facilities that deliberately failed to pay the required overtime rate when employees worked over 40 hours a week serving the needs of older adults in Santa Clara and San Jose.

HONOLULU – U.S. Department of Labor investigators have found that a Lihue cleaning service failed to pay employees overtime wages when required and did not pay employees for time spent traveling between job sites, which has led to the recovery of $96,936 in unpaid wages and damages for 10 workers.

PHILADELPHIA – A federal court jury has awarded back wages of more than $22 million to the U.S. Department of Labor for more than 7,500 employees working for East Penn Manufacturing Company Inc. — one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers — after the department proved that the company failed to pay them overtime pay.

Who:              U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division           

What:             Fair Labor Standards Act webinar for hotel industry employers, workers

When:            May 11, 2023, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT  

LYNDHURST, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in a federal court in New Jersey to recover $910,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 289 employees of a Lyndhurst staffing agency whose pay practices deprived them of hard-earned overtime wages.

Employer:   APDC Cleaning Services Inc.

                     5824 Precision Drive, Orlando, FL 32819

Employer:                       The Heart and Medical Center                                     

Investigation sites:    2701 W. University Blvd.

                                              Durant, OK 74701                                  

LOUISVILLE, KY – Working in a kitchen late at night near dangerous cooking equipment is a reality for many adults in the food service industry. But finding 10-year-old kids in such a work environment is a cause for concern and action by the U.S. Department of Labor.