SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has approved a default judgment against the now-defunct company Kizzang LLC and its president Robert Alexander, that requires them to pay $99,807 to former employees and their beneficiaries for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) related to their employee health and welfare plan. 

DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan against ProCorp LLC – owner Timothy Schultz and operations manager Nichole Shaffer – seeking an injunction and more than $1.5 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages for approximately 700 drivers employed by the company.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia delivered remarks at an event on June 15, 2020, featuring the launch of the final report of the Heritage Foundation’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission.

The speech included the following excerpts:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today issued programmatic guidance to help ensure the accuracy of unemployment claims made due to the implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published the “Seven Steps to Correctly Wear a Respirator at Work” poster in 14 additional languages. Initially available in English and Spanish, the poster demonstrates and describes seven steps every worker should follow when putting on and taking off a respirator.

WASHINGTON, DC – As more workplaces begin to reopen, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is reminding employers that worker safety remains a priority amid both coronavirus and common workplace hazards. 

HUNTSVILLE, AL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Copeland Cleaners Inc. – a dry cleaning enterprise based in Huntsville, Alabama – has paid $15,385 in wages to 29 employees to resolve minimum wage violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

POULAN, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has debarred Reyes Quality Berry Farm LLC – based in Poulan, Georgia – from applying for certification to request temporary foreign workers under the H-2A agricultural worker visa program for three years. WHD also assessed the employer a $61,265 civil penalty for violating the labor provisions of the H-2A program, and found that the employer owed $47,675 in back wages to 32 employees.

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Detyens Shipyards Inc. for failing to protect employees from struck-by and fall hazards. The company faces $37,591 in penalties.

MIAMI, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Miami-Dade County Coordinated Victims Assistance Center (CVAC) has paid $911 to an employee for violating the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

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 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

CLARKSVILLE, TN – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has led the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to issue a consent order against a Clarksville, Tennessee-based employer for violating overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer will also pay a civil money penalty for a child labor violation.

KANSAS CITY, MO – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Plate Restaurant – based in Kansas City, Missouri – has paid 31 employees $42,534 in back wages after it was unable to make payroll, a violation of the Fair labor Standards Act (FLSA).

DETROIT, MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), two Michigan-based contractors – Resurrection Carpentry LLC and The Drywall King LLC – working on a federally funded project in Detroit, Michigan, will pay 36 current and former employees a total of $101,711, for failing to pay the required prevailing wages and fringe benefits to construction employees.

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. to reinstate and pay more than $150,000 in back wages after terminating an employee for reporting an on-the-job injury at its Atlanta, Georgia, facility, and also filing an alleged violation report with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). OSHA also ordered the company to pay the employee $75,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 in compensatory damages and attorney’s fees.

HIGHLAND PARK, MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the City of Highland Park, Michigan, has paid $49,181 in back wages to four current employees for violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). WHD also assessed the city $1,368 in penalties because of the repeat nature of the violations.

PORTLAND, OR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), two subcontractors – ODP Systems and Timber Tech Framing – working on an apartment complex in Eugene, Oregon, will pay a collective $123,832 to 38 employees after investigators found numerous prevailing wage, overtime and illegal deductions violations,

RINEYVILLE, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges has signed an agreement between the department and E.C. Construction Inc. in which the company will pay $24,755 in civil penalties for its violations of H-2B visa program labor provisions. As a result of a Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, the Rineyville, Kentucky-based stonemason contractor will also pay four employees $76,803 in back wages.

WASHINGTON, DC – Solicitor of Labor Kate O’Scannlain and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Loren Sweatt issued the following statement regarding today’s D.C. Circuit Court ruling in re: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, No. 20-1158:

SAVANNAH, GA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Krishna Grocery – a grocery chain with stores in the southeastern U.S. – has paid $54,935 in back wages and liquidated damages to three employees for violating minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).