Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the week ending on Friday, November 3
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Allandale Lawn & Landscape Inc., violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay 35 workers time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division also discovered the employer deducted a full hour of lunch every day, even though workers routinely took only a 45-minute lunch break. In addition, the division found the employer violated the FLSA’s recordkeeping provisions.
After an investigation, the DOL recovered $57,518 in owed wages and $57,518 in liquidated damages to 35 workers, 10 of whom have yet to be located for payment. Workers who may be owed back wages for this or any other case can get more information at the Wage and Hour Division’s Workers Owed Wages website.
Federal workplace safety investigators have determined a construction contractor could have prevented a 34-year-old steel worker from suffering fatal injuries – after a 60-foot fall at a Hyundai electric car plant in Ellabell – by following legally required safety procedures.
A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the April 2023 incident found that workers employed by Eastern Constructors Inc. had been guiding an I-beam in place atop the plant’s paint building when the fall occurred. One worker, walking along the top of the building’s upper frame lost his balance and fell, resulting in the sharp edge of the structure cutting his safety line. Despite efforts of emergency personnel who arrived soon after, the worker died at the scene.
OSHA determined Eastern Constructors Inc. failed to ensure workers were provided fall arrest equipment that was appropriate for the work conditions and capable of resisting sharp edges, which exposed employees to fall hazards. The company also exposed employees to fall hazards by not taking worn and damaged fall arrest systems out of service.
OSHA cited Eastern Constructors Inc. for one willful and one serious violation and proposed $160,724 in penalties, an amount set by federal statute. For the company’s plain indifference and willful violation, the agency has placed Eastern Constructors Inc. in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
Since 2016, Eastern Constructors, Inc. has been inspected in response to four other worker fatalities. These inspections resulted in serious and willful violations for hazards related to steel erection, including fall protection.
Eastern Constructors Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
The U.S. Department of Labor has entered in a conciliation agreement with a global distributor of inventory solutions for aerospace original equipment manufacturers to resolve allegations of hiring discrimination affecting more than 100 Black and white job applicants at a Doral work site.
The agreement follows a routine compliance review by the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that found — from Aug. 23, 2016 to Aug. 23, 2018 — KLX Inc. allegedly discriminated against 113 Black and 16 white applicants for material handler I positions. The agency determined the actions violated Executive Order 11246, which forbids federal contractors from discriminating in employment.
To resolve the allegations, Boeing Distribution Services Inc. – which acquired KLX Inc. in October 2018 and did not own KLX Inc. during the timeframe reviewed – entered into an early resolution conciliation agreement in which the employer will pay $402,500 in back wages and interest to the affected job applicants; ensure its selection process, personnel practices and hiring policies are free from discrimination; and make certain its recordkeeping methods meet legal requirements. Boeing will also offer jobs to 11 Black and white affected applicants as positions become available.
OFCCP launched the Class Member Locator to identify applicants or workers who may be entitled to monetary relief and/or consideration for job placement as a result of OFCCP’s compliance evaluations and complaint investigations. If you think you may be a member of the affected class at Boeing Distribution Services Inc. during the investigative period, please use OFCCP’s Class Member Locator to learn more about these and other settlements.
U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the owner of a Madison, tn Subway restaurant kept a portion of the employees’ earned credit card tips illegally. Investigators also learned Jay and Krupa Inc. employed two minor-aged employees but failed to have records that verified their birthdates. The division recovered $16,666 in back wages and liquidated damages for 24 workers.
Kentucky furniture manufacturer National Office Furniture Inc. has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor in which the employer will pay $132,500 in back wages and interest to 201 applicants for product assembly positions to resolve alleged hiring discrimination at its Danville location.
U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the operator of four Louisville, KY coffee shops permitted two managers to take a portion of servers’ tips. The DOL recovered $72,564 for 34 workers.
On Aug. 9, 2023, a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found that Brayden Roofing willfully exposed employees to fall hazards by allowing them to work on 10-foot high roofs without fall protection at a Jacksonville worksite. The agency also cited the company with a serious violation for not making sure ladder rails extended above the roof’s upper landing surface. The agency proposed penalties of $72,683
The U.S. Department of Labor announced last week that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 9 mines in 7 states in September 2023, issuing 123 violations. Of the 123 violations identified by MSHA in September, 17 were evaluated as serious and significant.
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