WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced four new opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the person or entity that requested the letter.

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Mundo De Colores Inc. – operator of five Minneapolis-area Spanish language childcare facilities – has paid 28 employees back wages and restored leave valued at $19,447. The employer failed to provide the workers leave required under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), KNM Holdings LLC – operator of Church’s Chicken franchise locations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma – has paid $1,653 in back wages to an employee after the employer wrongly denied the employee’s request for paid sick leave to fulfill a healthcare provider’s order to self-quarantine for two weeks due to the coronavirus.

ORLANDO, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), US Aluminum Services Corp. – a residential aluminum construction contractor based in Orlando, Florida – will pay 19 employees $32,702 in owed wages for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and Employment and Training Administration (ETA) both published guidance related to the reopening of schools.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced actions it is taking to assist Americans in states affected by Hurricane Laura.

In response to the anticipated needs of those living in states in the path of Hurricane Laura, the Department and its agencies are taking the following actions:

In the week ending August 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,006,000, a decrease of 98,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 1,106,000 to 1,104,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,068,000, a decrease of 107,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 1,175,750 to 1,175,250.

Read the full release.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia today announced the award of nearly $20 million in funding to four states as part of a new pilot program to address the health and economic impacts of widespread substance and opioid misuse, addiction and overdose by providing retraining and other services to workers in communities significantly impacted by the opioid crisis.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $80,684,142 in grants through the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) to provide career services, training services, youth services, related assistances, and housing services to eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents.

COLUMBUS, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment requiring Robert Walton, Jr. – CEO of Hadsell Chemical Processing – to restore $65,842 to the Hadsell Chemical Processing Simple IRA Plan after the Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found that Walton, as plan fiduciary, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has sentenced Mahyar David Yadidi – a San Pedro, California, chiropractor – to prison and ordered him to make restitution for defrauding the International Longshore and Warehouse Union-Pacific Maritime Association (ILWU-PMA) Welfare Plan. The court’s action follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and Office of Inspector General (OIG).

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has approved a consent order and judgment requiring fiduciaries Executive Printing of Darien LLC, Chapin Packaging LLC and John Trask Pfeifle to restore $17,352.83 to the Darien, Connecticut, companies’ 401(k) retirement benefits plan.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has entered into a conciliation agreement with Wells Fargo Bank N.A. in which the bank has agreed to pay $7,800,000 in back wages and interest to resolve allegations of hiring discrimination.

HARRISONVILLE, NJ – A judge in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) has ordered a Harrisonville, New Jersey, tomato farm to pay $49,423 in back wages to 62 farmworkers, the majority of which the employer recruited from Mexico as temporary foreign workers on H-2A visas. The judge also ordered the employer to pay $7,634 in civil money penalties.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Hurricane Wings Management LLC – a restaurant chain based in West Palm Beach, Florida – has paid $115,966 in back wages to 160 employees for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at two locations.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced additional funding of $7,334,788 for a Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant awarded to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity in response to Hurricane Michael.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued an emergency declaration for the State one day prior to the storm’s landfall on Oct. 10, 2018. These funds will allow grant participants to continue the ongoing cleanup and recovery efforts in 35 counties. 

WASHINGTON DC – With telework arrangements expanding in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-5 to clarify an employer’s obligation to track the number of hours of compensable work performed by employees who are teleworking or otherwise working away from premises controlled by their employers.

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced publication of its “Promoting Regulatory Openness through Good Guidance Rule” (PRO Good Guidance Rule). The rule, which implements Executive Order 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law through Improved Agency Guidance Documents,” seeks to create fairer procedures for the issuance and use of regulatory guidance at the Department of Labor.