New York Paralegal Blog

URBANA , Ill. — A federal judge in Urbana has ordered Dolores Onate, owner, and Ricardo Onate, manager, of the El Matador Inc. and El Caporal Inc. restaurants in Decatur to pay a total of $1,149,702.50 in back wages and damages to 64 workers employed as servers and kitchen staff. This judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that disclosed willful violations of the minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at three locations. "The defendants in this case willfully and repeatedly violated federal labor standards, including forcing their employees to repay wages in an effort to conceal their own violations," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "As a result of the Labor Department's enforcement efforts, these vulnerable workers will receive their rightful pay." The judgment requires the defendants to pay $...

SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred HWA Inc., President John Wood and Vice President Barbara Wood from future government contracts for three years, due to significant and repeated violations of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. Seattle-based HWA provided security services as a contractor to various federal facilities, government offices and public works projects in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Missouri and New York. "The Labor Department will not allow federal contractors to misuse public funds and exploit hardworking laborers by denying their rightful wages," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Debarring violators such as HWA from future contracts ensures a level playing field, so that honest companies are not placed at a competitive disadvantage for playing by the rules, and paying their workers full and fair prevailing wages." This debarment action is based on HW...

Court’s order also includes $20,000 in civil money penalties for willful violations of the law WESTBURY, N.Y. —The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $780,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 40 employees of Martino’s Pizzeria Inc., doing business as Mama’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, in Copiague, N.Y., resolving a lawsuit filed against the company for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court’s judgment prohibits the company and owners Gaetano and Grace Pinello from future violations of the FLSA; orders the immediate payment of $390,000 in minimum wage and overtime back wages, and another $390,000 in liquidated damages; and requires an additional $20,000 in civil money penalties be paid to the government for willful violations of the law. “When employers take advantage of workers who may not know their rights, the Labor Department will step in,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “This case is significant because 40 people who worked hard for low wages ...

NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 12, 2010) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the arrest of Queens contractor Kostas “Gus” Andrikopoulos, of Hara Electric Corporation, who allegedly failed to pay more than $2 million in wages to employees who worked on numerous schools throughout New York City. Beginning in June 2005, Hara Electric Corporation entered into a series of contracts with the New York City School Construction Authority to do electrical work on schools throughout the five boroughs. In all, Hara was awarded 9 contracts and was hired as a subcontractor on 32 projects.

BOSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $1.5 million in back wages for 272 employees of SI International SEIT Inc., a contractor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Vermont Service Center, at various locations in St. Albans and Essex Junction, Vt. SI International SEIT Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SI International Inc., employed workers at the Vermont Service Center under federal service contracts subject to the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act's prevailing wage provisions. Following an investigation, the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division cited the company for misclassifying employees and failing to pay them the proper prevailing wage rates for the type of work they were actually performing.

NEW YORK, NY (August 31, 2009) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office reached an agreement with Dreamland Amusements, Inc. (“Dreamland”), a New York-based traveling carnival operator to pay workers back for unpaid wages as well as to change its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with labor and civil rights laws. Today’s announcement comes as a result of an extensive investigation into allegations of labor and civil rights violations. Attorney General Cuomo’s investigation began after his Office received complaints from ride operators who are primarily Mexican workers who Dreamland recruited through a temporary work visa program, which is referred to as the H2B program. The complaints alleged that the workers were denied minimum and overtime wages and subjected to substandard living conditions, while other workers who were not Mexican received preferable conditions. Under the agreement, the company must pay its workers $325,000 in back wages, ensu...

Violations disclosed in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas TULSA, Okla. — QuikTrip Corp. has agreed to pay $747,729 in overtime back wages for 3,819 current and former convenience store workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division's Arkansas-Oklahoma District Office. "I am pleased that this case has resulted in almost $750,000 in back wages being paid to thousands of workers across nine states," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "I am committed to ensuring that every worker is paid the full wages he or she is due, and that those who work overtime receive the compensation to which they are legally entitled." The investigation found that Tulsa-based QuikTrip had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay its employees the overtime compensation they were legally entitled to receive. QuikTrip failed to pay the additional overtime premium due on ...

NEW YORK – A New York-based company that refurbishes cell phones at its factory in Long Island will pay $435,000 to settle a wage discrimination and retaliation suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced on November 3, 2008. The EEOC had charged that First Wireless Group, Inc. engaged in a pattern or practice of race and/or national origin discrimination against a class of Hispanic workers by paying them less for doing the same job as Asian employees and by firing those who complained about the unlawful pay disparity. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit (Civil Action No.03-CV-4990) filed in September 2003 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, after a group of former Hispanic employees became aware that Asian employees were being paid $1.50 to $2.00 or more per hour for performing the same work, they circulated a petition asking for equal pay. Rather than looking into the employees’ complaints, the EEOC said, Firs...