New York Paralegal Blog

DES MOINES, Iowa – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a partial summary judgment requiring Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry’s Turkey Service, and president Kenneth Henry to pay more than $1.76 million in back wages and liquidated damages for violating the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.  The judgment partially resolves a lawsuit filed by the Labor Department following an investigation by the Des Moines District Office of its Wage and Hour Division.  The judgment, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Davenport, concluded that the defendants willfully violated the FLSA by failing to properly pay 31 workers with disabilities.  Henry’s Turkey Service supplied the workers to the West Liberty Foods turkey processing plant in West Liberty, where most worked on the plant’s processing line “Working on a poultry processing line is a particularly difficult...

HESPERIA, Calif. — Arizona Pipeline Co. has agreed to pay $750,000 in back wages to 740 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which found that the company violated the overtime and record keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Arizona-incorporated company, which contracts with major utility companies to install underground utilities, has main offices in Hesperia and is licensed in eight states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Texas. It maintains construction yards in Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Corona and Indio, Calif.; and Las Vegas and Carson City, Nev. The company specializes in gas distribution; long line pipeline; power distribution and transmission; fiber optics placement; engineering and design; and sewer, water and storm drains.

Department assesses more than $104,000 in penalties for multiple violations HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $934,551 in overtime back wages for 479 employees of UnitedHealthcare and $104,280 in civil money penalties after an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division determined that the employees had been incorrectly classified as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and consequently denied compensation for all hours worked. UnitedHealthcare is the largest single health insurance carrier in the United States. This action is limited to the company's Hartford location, which specializes in the IT, finance, actuarial and underwriting operations for UnitedHealth Group Inc.

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 ...

(USDOL) Sandia Corp., doing business as Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, has agreed to pay $2,077,248 in overtime back wages to 2,657 research employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). "Among the department's highest priorities is ensuring that workers are paid all the wages they are owed," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "In this case, we have succeeded in securing more than $2 million in back wages for these workers." Full Story...