DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent preliminary injunction against the Michigan operator of Leo’s Coney Island franchise locations in Clarkston, Dearborn, Livonia and Sterling Heights with a history of defying overtime regulations and shortchanging employees’ wages.

Employers:    Community Living of Brookfield LLC, Brookfield, Wisconsin

                             Matthew Sebuliba, owner and operator

 Action:           Consent judgment and order

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgement from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma that includes a landmark injunction that permanently prevents the U.S. Postal Service from retaliating against employees at up to 59 locations in the State of Washington. 

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $167,101 in back wages for 20 workers for a Keene roofing contractor that paid incorrect wages and improper overtime to foreign temporary workers employed through the federal H-2B nonimmigrant program.

INDIANAPOLIS – Despite a 2022 federal court judgment requiring him to pay his employees overtime, Tim Paul — owner of eight Indianapolis-area healthcare services companies — continues to use improper pay practices, the U.S. Department of Labor alleges in its request that a federal court hold the employer in contempt for ignoring the 2022 decision.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court to stop improper employment practices by a Virginia-based IT staffing agency that bind employees to their jobs, extract huge sums from them if they leave the firm and forbid them from engaging in protected activity under federal law.

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The owner of a Benton tavern and restaurant has agreed to comply with a preliminary injunction obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor to stop the employer from violating federal regulations.

The action comes amid allegations that Tim’s Tavern and owner Tim Steppach failed to pay minimum and overtime wages as required, kept workers’ tips, employed children illegally and fired a worker who warned that the department would be notified.

SAN DIEGO, CA – Since 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor has seen a troubling increase in wage theft by customs brokers and freight-forwarding and logistics companies operating near the Mexican border, a trend reflected in three recent investigations in San Diego that recovered nearly $840,000 for 32 employees, some of whom one employer paid less than $3 per hour.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in a federal court ordering a City of Industry meat processor and a Downey staffing agency to surrender $327,484 in illegal profits made from sales of products associated with oppressive, exploitative child labor. The judgment also requires the employers to pay the department $62,516 in penalties. 

ANN ARBOR, MI – An Ann Arbor restaurant operator who sought and received nearly $950,000 in federal assistance to help keep workers employed during the pandemic has agreed to pay $196,531 in back wages and liquidated damages to 20 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the employer’s illegal pay practices. 

RADNOR, PA ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor announced a settlement with the Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. that requires the company to change its evidence of insurability requirement – commonly known as proof of good health –for participants in job-based life insurance plans.

EAST ST. LOUIS, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint in federal court against two Illinois restaurants — operating as IHOP franchises in O’Fallon and Alton — and their owner after its investigation identified numerous violations, including management telling servers to surrender their tips to a shared tip pool when, in fact, the owner was keeping the tips for the restaurant or sharing them with back-of-the-house employees not eligible to participate in a mandatory tip pool. 

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a settlement with Unum Life Insurance Co. of America that requires the Portland, Maine-based insurer to change how it administers its proof of good health requirement — referred to as evidence of insurability — for participants in job-based life insurance plans.  

LOUISVILLE, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order requiring one of the nation’s most successful thoroughbred horse trainers to pay $243,260 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages after its investigation found the employer’s illegal pay practices denied 163 grooms and hotwalkers at Churchill Downs and at Keeneland racetrack in Lexington of overtime wages.

Date of action:                       May 20, 2024

 Type of action:                      Consent Judgment  

NEWARK, NJ – A federal administrative law judge has affirmed safety violations against United Airlines related to a 2021 incident at Newark Liberty International Airport in which a 737’s tire crushed a technician’s foot as they worked with one of the company’s towing crews.

Read this news release in English. 

BOSTON – Three Rhode Island nail salons in Cumberland, East Greenwich and North Providence and their owner have agreed to pay employees $753,500 in back wages and damages and take corrective actions to resolve violations of the anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the FLSA’s overtime requirements. 

PORTLAND, OR – After a two-day bench trial, the U.S. Department of Labor obtained a federal court judgment that orders the U.S. Postal Service to pay $141,307 in lost wages and damages for emotional distress suffered to a probationary mail carrier who the agency fired after they reported an on-the-job injury to their supervisor and filed an accident report. 

BOSTON – A federal court in Vermont has concluded that the First Amendment does not protect a Milton, Vermont, excavation contractor and its officials from using social media to retaliate against employees. The decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont is the latest action in ongoing litigation between the Department of Labor and Bevins & Son Inc.