DOL Investigation
Employer to pay $384K in back wages, penalties for H-2B violations
An employer in Pennsylvania will pay more than $384,000 in back wages and civil penalties to resolve H-2B violations. As an FYI, the federal H-2B visa program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the U.S. The program has several general requirements that employers must follow. Among other things,…
Fired for asking to get paid? Check out this new NLRB ruling
A new NLRB ruling says an employee was improperly fired for asking “the most basic of employee questions.” The question, in essence: Where’s my paycheck? This story is about Carlos Martinez, who worked as a security officer for a company called TSG. TSG had a contract to provide security services at a place called Sunny…
Heads up: The feds are watching you watching your employees
How closely are you watching your employees? If it’s too closely, the feds may be watching you – and may soon be taking more aggressive action to stop it. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) just issued a memo announcing an intent to protect employees “from intrusive or abusive electronic monitoring and automated management practices.”…
Meal break time: Are you making this (potentially huge) mistake?
A security services provider will pay more than $1.1 million following a DOL investigation that found it wrongfully deducted meal break time for hundreds of employees. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division investigated Universal Protection Service LP, which does business as Allied Universal Security Services. In a press release announcing the investigation’s result. the DOL…
Million-dollar payouts: Feds target wage violations
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is serious about enforcing federal labor laws, as shown by three recent cases that resulted in million-dollar payouts by alleged offenders. The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division is responsible for enforcing federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions relating to a variety of employment requirements, including those related to…
Missing 401(k) contributions: Company held in contempt, faces daily fine by court order
Word to the wise: Never try to duck out of obligations outlined in a consent decree. You won’t be able to hide for long. That’s a lesson recently learned the hard way by a Baltimore company and its owner, Bryan Hill. Here’s how the whole mess got started – and the latest development in the…
New OSHA Rule Lets Union Reps Participate in Safety Inspections
A new OSHA rule – the so-called “walkaround” rule – clarifies that employees may designate a non-employee third party, such as a union rep, to be their representative and accompany OSHA inspectors during workplace safety inspections. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 1 – and is set to take effect…
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