LANSDOWNE, PA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ordered Central Laundry Inc., owner George Rengepes and business operator Jimmy Rengepes to pay $239,269 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 21 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

LEACHVILLE, AR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Arkansas staff sourcing company Wallace, Rush, Schmidt Inc. (WRS) has paid $708,922 to settle overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WEST COVINA, CA – United States Auto Club Inc. (USAC), a Texas-based emergency roadside assistance provider for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), will pay $649,996 to 29 employees for violations of federal contract provisions of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). WHD determined that USAC owes the employees $377,512 in unpaid prevailing wages and $165,116 in required health and welfare benefits.

HEWITT, NJ - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited roofing contractor John Prevete Framing LLC for exposing employees to safety hazards while performing residential demolition work at a Passaic County, New Jersey, site. OSHA proposed $221,343 in penalties.

CLARKSTON, MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Summit Properties & Development Co. Inc., based in Clarkston, Michigan, will pay a total of $137,237 in back wages and liquidated damages to 17 employees.

WHD investigators determined the general contractor misclassified some employees as independent contractors, and failed to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

CHICAGO, IL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has entered a judgment requiring Frank Eric Talbert to restore $64,704 in losses owed to The Proteus Group 401(k) Retirement Plan. Talbert served as the sole trustee to the Chicago architectural company’s retirement plan and was part owner and the primary manager of Proteus’s daily operations.

PHOENIX, AZ – After a June 2017 U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found 69 Mexican guest workers living in a life-threatening housing encampment at an El Mirage farm, the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Phoenix has entered judgments against a grower and its recruiting agents for violations of the H-2A guest worker program.

DUNN, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has debarred Worldwide Staffing LLC from applying for H-2A certifications for three years following violations of the visa program’s requirements and a failure to pay back wages owed to employees. The company failed to reimburse employees for their inbound travel expenses from their home countries, as the law requires, and owed $58,458 in back wages to 200 employees. WHD assessed the staffing company a civil penalty of $17,309 because of the violations.

ALLEN PARK, MI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Michigan-based automotive tire and service retail chain Belle Tire has agreed to pay $342,926 in back wages to 1,207 employees at 100 locations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration has reached its application goal, and the registration period is now closed. This November, the Department will recognize employers who qualified for the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration Award.

The program demonstration enabled up to 300 employers to apply and prepare those who registered for an account on the HIREVets.gov website.

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has sentenced Jeffrey Adedoyin Williams – an employee at a Florida addiction treatment center – to 12 months and one day in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment after Williams pleaded guilty to obstruction of a criminal healthcare investigation.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Association of Energy Service Companies (AESC) have renewed an alliance designed to help protect oil and gas well servicing industry employees.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – An education and enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has recovered $2,079,596 in back wages and liquidated damages for 87 attendants working at 25 southern New Jersey gas stations since January 2017. This payment resolves violations found during a series of investigations by the WHD.

MOUNT HOPE, WV - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited West Virginia roofing contractor Master Roofers and Builders Inc. for exposing employees to fall, electrical, and other safety hazards as they installed a church roof in Mount Hope. OSHA has proposed penalties of $57,646.

BUFFALO, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited U-Haul Company of New York & Vermont, doing business as U-Haul Moving & Storage at Larkin District, for exposing its employees to asbestos and silica hazards while performing renovation work at its 665 Perry St. storage facility in Buffalo. The company faces $108,095 in proposed fines.

SYRACUSE, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Syracuse-based roofing contractor The Roofing Guys Inc. have reached a settlement to resolve citations and penalties issued by OSHA. This settlement resolves four separate citations for fall protection violations issued to the company in 2016 and 2017.

CHICAGO, IL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the FBI has led to prison sentences for two former officials of Orlando, Florida-based First Farmers Financial LLC (FFF). The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, resulted in guilty pleas by the pair for their involvement in the sale of $179 million in fraudulent loans to a Milwaukee company that provided investment services to 42 retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

GUAYNABO, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) continues to investigate wage issues on St. Croix and St. Thomas and provide compliance assistance related to recovery efforts following Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

TAMPA, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Jasper Contractors Inc. have reached a settlement that resolves a lawsuit filed under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act. In the settlement, Jasper Contractors - headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, but performing roofing work in Florida - agreed to pay an employee $48,000 in back wages and compensatory damages.

WILKES-BARRE, PA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the owners of a chain of Pennsylvania bar and grill restaurants have paid $750,007 in back wages and liquidated damages. In a settlement agreement with the Department, Arooga’s Grille House and Sports Bar agreed to pay current and former servers, cooks, and assistant kitchen managers in York, Camp Hill, Lower Paxton, Mechanicsburg, Hanover and Harrisburg for minimum wages and overtime not paid to them over a 30-month period.