September 24, 2021

Federal court orders former Arkansas steelworkers’ union president to pay $37K in restitution after US Department of Labor investigation

WHITE HALL, AR – Based on an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, a federal court has ordered former United Steelworkers Local 13-1731 president Trey Huffty to reimburse the White Hall, Arkansas, local $37,367 as part of his Sept. 23 sentencing.

September 23, 2021

Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recupera $163,000 para empleados por violaciones laborales intencionales por parte de restaurante de California

SACRAMENTO – Mientras que trabajadores de un restaurant al Norte de California trabajaban duro para satisfacer a los clientes y ayudar al negocio a seguir adelante durante la pandemia, su empleador intencionalmente no les pagaba los salarios requeridos por sobretiempo, lo que ha llegado a tener costosas consecuencias para los propietarios del negocio.  

September 23, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $163K in back wages, damages after investigation finds California restaurant willfully violated overtime rules

SACRAMENTO – While workers at a northern California restaurant worked hard to satisfy customers and keep the business operating throughout the pandemic, their employer intentionally failed to pay overtime wages when required, leading to costly consequences for the restaurant’s owner.

September 23, 2021

Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. solicita orden para impedir que operador agrícola en Rosedale tome represalias contra trabajadores H-2A, y obstaculice la investigación

ROSEDALE, LA – En una plantación de caña de azúcar y soja en las afueras de Baton Rouge, trabajadores agrícolas enfrentaron más que el calor y la humedad de Louisiana. Tuvieron que confrontar al propietario de la plantación, Glynn Rivet, quien supuestamente les negó suficiente comida y agua, y después de que le pidieran ayuda su hijo, Rivet les gritó obscenidades, los amenazó con armas y efectuó disparos cerca de ellos. Tres de los trabajadores fueron despedidos después de abandonar la plantación temiendo por sus vidas.

September 23, 2021

Nationwide driving range operator that failed to pay overtime to eligible ‘managers’ pays $750K in back wages to 255 workers in 25 states

DALLAS – An employer learned a costly lesson about skirting federal overtime laws when it gave hollow management titles to overtime eligible employees and paid them salaries for all the hours they worked. Despite the fact that the work they do made them eligible for overtime, Top Golf USA Inc. failed to pay overtime when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

September 23, 2021

Court affirms US Department of Labor’s independent authority to recover unpaid wages, damages in court for employees who signed private arbitration agreements

NEW YORK A federal judge in New York has ruled private arbitration agreements do not bind the Secretary when the U.S. Secretary of Labor is not a party. The decision now allows the U.S. Department of Labor to move forward with its lawsuit alleging that three defendants misclassified their employees as independent contractors to evade the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

September 23, 2021

Final rule allows US Department of Labor to levy civil money penalties against employers who take workers’ tips

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule that restores the department’s ability to assess civil money penalties against employers who take tips earned by their employees, regardless of whether those violations are repeated or willful.

September 23, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending September 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 351,000, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 332,000 to 335,000. The 4-week moving average was 335,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 750 from 335,750 to 336,500.

September 22, 2021

US Department of Labor files restraining order to stop Rosedale farm operator from retaliating against H-2A workers, obstructing investigation

ROSEDALE, LA – At a sugarcane and soybean farm outside Baton Rouge, agricultural workers faced more than Louisiana’s heat and humidity. They dealt with a farm owner and operator, Glynn Rivet, who allegedly denied them adequate food and water, and after the workers asked the owner’s son to help them get food and water, the owner yelled obscenities at the workers, threatened them with guns and fired near them.

September 22, 2021

Statement of Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh applaud successful first course of remediation under USMCA’s Rapid Response Mechanism

WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh today marked the successful conclusion of the first a course of remediation under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism. Workers at a General Motors facility in Silao, Mexico voted on whether to approve their existing collective bargaining agreement in free and democratic conditions after the United States requested a review on May 12, 2021. 

September 22, 2021

Lavadero de autos en California intencionalmente no pagó horas extra y deberá pagar $62,000 en salarios y compensación por violaciones federales

WEST COVINA, CA – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha ordenado a un operador de lavado de autos en Colton que pague a 15 trabajadores más de $62,000 en salarios atrasados y compensación por daños luego que investigadores federales encontraron que el empleador intencionalmente no les pagó las horas extra, como requiere la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo.

September 22, 2021

California car wash operator intentionally failed to pay overtime, must pay $62K in back wages, damages to remedy federal violations

WEST COVINA, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a Colton car wash to pay 15 workers more than $62,000 in back wages and liquidated damages after federal investigators found their employer intentionally failed to pay them overtime, as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires.

September 22, 2021

US Department of Labor announces new partners to support initiative to deliver employment services to transitioning service members, spouses

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its Veterans’ Employment and Training Service has signed a memorandum of understanding with nine organizations that have agreed to serve as partners to support VETS’ Employment Navigator and Partnership Pilot.

September 22, 2021

US Department of Labor finds overtime violations at a Florida air conditioning company, recovers $34K in back wages for 43 workers

ORLANDO, FL – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found an Orlando air conditioning and heating service company failed to pay workers the overtime wages they legally earned, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

September 22, 2021

US Department of Labor investigations find three South Carolina marinas violated federal child labor provisions

COLUMBIA, SC The operators of three South Carolina marinas found themselves afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act recently after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigations uncovered child labor and overtime violations.

September 21, 2021

US Department of Labor reaches voluntary conciliation agreement with Hawaii to improve language access to unemployment insurance

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations have entered into a voluntary conciliation agreement to ensure those with limited English proficiency and eligible non-U.S. citizens seeking to file claims for unemployment insurance benefits have better access to services.

September 21, 2021

US Department of Labor again cites Fort Worth masonry company for exposing workers to falls, proposes $216K in penalties

DENTON, TX – A Fort Worth masonry company continues to put its workers at risk for falls – the leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry – by ignoring workplace safety regulations, a recent federal inspection at a Denton work site found.

September 21, 2021

Tribunal federal ordena a almacén fronterizo pagar $235,000 en salarios atrasados, multas tras investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU.

SAN DIEGO - Un tribunal federal ha dictado una sentencia acordada por las partes por la que se ordena a una empresa de almacenes aduaneros de San Diego el pago de $235,000 en concepto de salarios atrasados y sanciones después de que una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU.

September 21, 2021

Federal court orders border warehouse to pay $235K in back wages, penalties after US Department of Labor investigation

SAN DIEGO – A federal court has approved a consent judgment ordering a San Diego customs warehouse company to pay $235,000 in back wages and penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employer illegally paid warehouse workers as little as $3.38 per hour and paid no overtime when the workers averaged 45 to 51 hours a week.

September 21, 2021

OSHA finds Ohio contractor continues to defy federal safety requirements to ensure workers use fall protection, placing himself, employees at risk

STREETSBORO, OH – An Orwell roofing contractor continues to put himself and his workers at risk of injury or worse by defying federal requirements to use fall protection and have protective equipment readily available on job sites, a recent workplace inspection found.