Owed Unpaid Wages?

Information for workers owed unpaid wages.

Minimum Wage

DOL: Alabama Security Company Withheld Millions in Wages

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently accused ManTech International Corporation and two subcontractors of unlawfully withholding over $1.1 million in back pay and benefits from 236 employees.

The allegations stem from a DOL investigation to determine whether the companies were in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Service Contract Act (SCA), and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

The FLSA contains the federal minimum wage and overtime provisions. Unless exempt, employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate of at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay.  In the investigation, the DOL determined that the companies not only paid employees rates and benefits below the minimum wage, but also failed to pay time-and-a-half for all overtime hours over 40 worked in one week.

Founded in 1968, ManTech describes itself as “a multi-billion-dollar public company that provides the innovation, adaptability, and critical thinking our government needs for success in defense, intelligence, law enforcement, science, administration, health, and other fields—throughout the nation and in many countries around the world.” The other two companies are also federal government defense contractors. Kenneth Stripling, the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division Director in Birmingham, criticized ManTech’s unlawful wage policies in a press statement, “Not only does this practice undercut what the workers involved are legally owed, it results in unfair competition for contractors who play by the rules.”

 

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West Virginia Employer Paying $119,040 To Employees With Disabilities To Resolve Violations

A federal jury has entered a verdict against Randolph County Sheltered Workshop Inc. – doing business as Seneca Designs – and ordered the nonprofit organization to pay $119,040 in back wages to 34 employees. Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia-Elkins Division, the jury found that the organization violated the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Employees at Randolph County Sheltered Workshop assemble fishing lures and lure packages for Leland’s Lures in Searcy, Arkansas.

The FLSA requires that covered, non-exempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week.

Section 14(c) of the FLSA authorizes employers, after receiving a certificate from the Wage and Hour Division, to pay subminimum wages – wages less than the federal minimum wage – to employees with disabilities when the disability impairs their productivity for the work being performed.

Investigators found violations that resulted from the employer’s failure to obtain a certificate authorizing their payment of sub-minimum wages to employees with disabilities. Absent that certificate, employees were legally due the full federal minimum wage. Investigators also found that the employer failed to post information about rights for employees with disabilities paid at a sub-minimum wage, as the law requires.

The back wages received by these workers will undoubtedly have a positive impact on their lives. The ruling will also positively impact compliance and will help to level the playing field for employers that follow the law and pay their employees properly.

For more information about the FLSA and other wage and hour laws, or if you think you may be owed back wages, please contact an experienced FLSA attorney today.

Garment Facilities Are Top Offenders for FLSA Violations

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has found that 94 percent of 129 investigated garment facilities were violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In the Southland garment industry located in Southern California, $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages were assessed by the DOL. The DOL also assessed an additional $36,000 in civil penalties associated with the investigations.

Since the start of 2017, FLSA violations resulted in payments due to 1,377 employees. The DOL discovered many employees were being paid well below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, with some receiving as little as $4.27 per hour. Investigators also found employers often failed to pay employees overtime at 1.5 times their regular rates of pay when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, as required by the FLSA.

To combat the illegal factories, DOL officials continue to meet with retailers to encourage them to buy only from suppliers that comply with federal labor laws and to avoid non-compliant manufacturers. Still, according to Ruben Rosalez, the Wage and Hour Division regional administrator for Southern California, the agency continues to find wage violations at nine out of every 10 facilities that are investigated.

 

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Rampant Wage Theft Uncovered in Garment Facilities Across the Country

In December of 2017, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) revealed that it had assessed $1.6 million in back wages and liquidated damages against Southland garment since the beginning of the year.

According to the DOL, violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were found in 94 percent of 129 Wage and Hour Division investigations of the Southland garment factories. As a result of the investigations, the DOL found wages owed to 1,377 employees.

The DOL’s investigations uncovered that many employees were paid well below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, with some receiving as low as $4.27 per hour.  Additionally, workers were often not paid in compliance with the FLSA’s overtime requirements, which requires that all non-exempt employees be paid at one and one half times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a single work week. These violations also carry other civil penalties, which the DOL has enforced against Southland.

Ruben Rosalez of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division commented that “[i]n addition to our outreach efforts in this industry, we continue our investigations in Southern California to ensure local garment employees receive their rightfully earned pay.  Unfortunately, we continue to find wage violations in nine out of every ten facilities we investigate.”

Rosalez also noted that manufacturers who fail to pay employees in compliance with the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime provisions have a negative impact on the industry by unfairly undercutting the competition.

 

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Bravo to Brio for Settling Class Action Suit

On December 8, 2017, a class of 8,671 servers asked a federal court to accept its proposed $4 million settlement offer with their employer, the Ohio-based Bravo Brio Restaurant Group. The company operates Bravo Cucina Italiana, Bravo Tuscan Grille, and Bon Vie Bistro restaurants in 32 U.S. states.

Filed in 2016, the servers’ lawsuit alleges that Bravo Brio violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to properly pay them minimum wage and overtime. Additionally, the servers allege that the restaurant group required them to spend more than 20% of their workday completing non-tipped activities.

If approved, the settlement would create a $4 million payout fund for distribution between the class members. The named plaintiff, Mamdooh Husein, would stand to receive $17,500 in exchange for release of his claims against Bravo Brio. The servers’ motion for settlement approval currently faces no objections.

The case is titled Husein v. Bravo Brio Restaurant Group Inc., No. 4:16-cv-00435 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri

 

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