WASHINGTON – In one of the largest wage violation settlements ever reached for U.S. poultry workers, a federal court in Los Angeles has entered a consent judgment that orders Fu Qian Chen Lu, Bruce Shu Hua Lok and others as owners and operators of a network of California poultry processors and distributors to pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages to 476 workers and $221,919 in penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation. The settlement requires the employers to give up $1 million in profits earned from the sale of goods tainted by oppressive child labor and pay assessed penalties of $171,919 for their child labor violations. The judgment follows the grant of a temporary restraining order that barred the shipment of hot goods into commerce and required the employer to disgorge all profits related to any such shipment.Lu and his associated companies supply poultry products to distributors who sell chicken products to, among others, Diamond Green Diesel, Diamond Pet Foods, Foster Farms, Mars Pet Care, Perfection Pet Foods and Superior Food; as well as several Nevada hotels and casinos including Caesar’s Palace, The Mirage Hotel and Casino and The Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas; and the Casablanca Casino and Virgin River Hotel and Casino in Mesquite.The April 30, 2024, action comes after investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division learned the poultry enterprise illegally employed children — as young as 14 years old — to use sharp knives to debone poultry, a violation of federal child labor regulations. Additionally, the division found the employers and their associates denied the poultry- and red meatcutters and packers overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek and falsified payroll records to obstruct the probe. “When we find an employer has put a child’s well-being at risk in return for profit, the Department of Labor will use all available tools to seek to remove children from harm’s way and prevent future violations, including stopping the shipment or sale of goods located where children are being exploited,” explained Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The court’s disgorgement remedy recognizes that no employer should profit off the shipment of contraband and the backs of children.”After the investigation began in January 2024 by the Wage and Hour Division’s Los Angeles District Office, the supervisors at the employers’ facilities began retaliating against the workers, telling them they put the “noose around their own necks” for talking to the department and calling them derogatory slurs, as well as changing the terms of employment. The employers’ prior counsel also flatly refused to respond to any of the agency’s administrative subpoenas and attempted to obstruct the investigation, leading to a successful action to enforce subpoenas and obtain an order against the supervisors for retaliatory conduct.“Federal labor laws protect children from being employed in dangerous jobs and protect workers’ right to be paid all of their legally earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “The employers in this case illegally employed children, some as young as 14 years old, to work with extremely sharp-edged knives to quickly debone poultry and denied hundreds of workers nearly $2 million in overtime wages. These violations are unacceptable, and the Wage and Hour Division will continue to use all its tools to stop the exploitation of vulnerable workers.”Once investigators verified the child labor violations, the department’s Office of the Solicitor in Los Angeles obtained a temporary restraining order and an injunction under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s hot goods provision to prevent Lu and his businesses from shipping goods produced by an establishment that employs children illegally. In granting the temporary restraining order, the court found that the employers “employed oppressive child labor at the facility, which permanently render[ed] produced goods as contraband that [was] forbidden from entering commerce.”The judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California directs Lu and his associated businesses to pay more than $1.8 million in back wages and $3 million in damages to the affected workers. The employers must also pay civil money penalties for their child labor violations and willful overtime violations, and disgorge profits earned from the sale of goods tainted by oppressive child labor. These profits – totaling $1 million – will benefit the child workers. In addition, the court permanently forbids Lu, Lok and their associates from future FLSA violations. Lu and his co-defendants agreed to strong remedial measures to ensure future compliance.In addition, the order requires Lu and his related businesses to provide training on the Fair Labor Standards Act to all managers and supervisors and to hire an independent third-party to monitor compliance with the FLSA and the terms of the consent judgment at their facilities.The division’s investigation included eight related businesses controlled by Lu in Monterey Park, El Monte and Irwindale in California, including A1 Meat Solutions Inc., Lotus Plus Inc., Lotus Poultry Inc., Farmers Process Inc., Durfee Poultry Inc., L & Y Food Inc., JRC Culinary Group Inc. and Moon Poultry Inc.The department encourages downstream distributors and customers to protect themselves against potential liability related to handling hot goods by requiring producers, manufacturers and other dealers to take measures to ensure that the goods they produce and sell are not made with oppressive child labor. Part of the department’s ongoing effort to combat child labor abuses and wage theft in the poultry and meat processing industries, this judgment follows the division’s November 2023 recovery of $3.8 million in back wages, damages and penalties for child labor and wage violations after another California investigation of five companies owned or controlled by Tony Bran in La Puente and City of Industry. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.

PALMETTO, FL – A subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest food service distributors has entered into a conciliation agreement with the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and will pay $133,625 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged hiring discrimination by Sysco West Coast Florida Inc. at its Palmetto facility against 95 female applicants for outbound selector positions.  The routine compliance review of Sysco West Coast Florida Inc. by OFCCP alleged that from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2019, the employer’s hiring practices violated Executive Order 11246 and discriminated against the affected women applicants. Federal law prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or national origin. As part of its early resolution conciliation agreement, the federal contractor also agreed to take steps to make sure its selection process, personnel practices and hiring policies are free from discrimination, and that its recordkeeping methods comply with federal law. The employer will also offer jobs to nine affected female applicants as positions become available. “Federal contractors like Sysco West Coast Florida are required to make certain its employment practices comply with all federal law, including those that seek to eliminate gender-based barriers to equal employment,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Southeast Acting Regional Director Diana Sen.Sysco Corp. has contracts to provide food service distribution to the departments of Interior, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs. Since 2019, it has held more than $102 million in federal contracts. The company employs about 72,000 people worldwide. 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 class member who applied for an outbound selector position with Sysco West Coast Florida Inc. at its Palmetto, Florida, facility during the investigative period, please use OFCCP’s Class Member Locator to learn more about this and other settlements. Learn more about OFCCP, or call 800-397-6251.OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.

In the week ending April 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 208,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 207,000 to 208,000. The 4-week moving average was 210,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 213,250 to 213,500.

BRAINTREE, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor has determined an East Boston window cleaning company’s failure to inspect and replace damaged or defective equipment contributed to an employee’s fatal 29-story fall from a building in downtown Boston’s financial district in October 2023.The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that Sky Safety Inc. willfully exposed employees to fall hazards by not ensuring personal fall protection systems and a rope descent system workers used were in proper working condition at the 100 Summer Street work site. Specifically, OSHA investigators learned the company had not inspected the rope and equipment for damage and other deterioration adequately and did not remove defective components from service before each work shift and replace them. OSHA’s investigation also determined that Sky Safety Inc. did the following:Failed to adequately train employees on how to inspect ropes for maximum allowable wear, to recognize defects and conditions that warrant removal from service and on proper use of the rope descent system. The ropes used in the rope descent systems were not effectively padded or otherwise protected to prevent them from being cut or weakened. Allowed the use of rope descent system ropes, lifelines, and lanyards for personal fall protection that were not compatible with connectors and unprotected from damage such as cuts and erosion.   Failed to use only certified building anchorage for the rope descent system.OSHA cited Sky Safety Inc. for two willful, four serious and two repeat violations, and assessed $447,087 in proposed penalties, an amount set by federal statute.“To ensure the safety of employees who work at heights, employers like Sky Safety Inc. must make their responsibility to provide comprehensive training on inspecting rope descent systems and fall protection equipment and components before each use an absolute priority,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton in Boston. “The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to hold employers accountable when they fail to take the necessary steps to protect their workers.”View the citations OSHA issued to Sky Safety Inc.OSHA cited Hi-Rise Inc. — Sky Safety’s predecessor company — for exposing workers to similar fall-related and equipment hazards in May 2019 and in December 2013 at Boston work sites.Sky Safety Inc. provides exterior and interior building commercial cleaning services in Boston and New England for office buildings, hospitals, residential developments, stadiums and arenas, and airports.Sky Safety Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about fall hazards and proper safety procedures. Learn more about OSHA.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury today announced a new data-sharing partnership, the latest effort to support a multi-layered approach to fraud prevention by providing states with controls, tools and strategies to identify and combat unemployment insurance fraud. The data-sharing partnership provides state unemployment agencies with access to Do Not Pay Working System data sources and services through the UI Integrity Data Hub. Maintained by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies’ UI Integrity Center, the hub is a centralized, multistate data-matching system used by state unemployment agencies to aid fraud prevention and improper payment reduction efforts.Administered by the Office of Management and Budget and operated by Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Office of Payment Integrity, the Do Not Pay Working System provides a no-cost service for federal agencies and federally funded state-administered programs to verify claim eligibility and prevent fraud and improper payments. The department’s Employment and Training Administration oversees the nation’s unemployment insurance system through federal-state partnerships. Providing state agencies with access to additional payment integrity data sources is one of ETA’s key antifraud strategies. “To mitigate fraud risks and reduce improper payments, state unemployment agencies need access to the best controls,” explained Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training José Javier Rodríguez. “This partnership will allow states to access critical Do Not Pay data sources, which means they will be able to use existing infrastructure like the UI Integrity Data Hub more effectively to ensure the accuracy of unemployment payments.”“The Treasury Department is committed to building partnerships with key stakeholders – including federally funded state administered programs – to ensure we’re paying the right person, in the right amount, at the right time,” said Treasury’s Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk. “Getting money out the door quickly to support those in need doesn’t have to mean weakening controls and safeguards. By expanding access to Do Not Pay through our partnership with National Association of State Workforce Agencies’, states will be better equipped to prevent and detect fraud and improper payments in their UI programs.”UI agencies in all 53 states and territories participate in the UI Integrity Data Hub. The Department of Labor oversees the UI Integrity Center’s operations and activities, including the management and maintenance of the UI Integrity Data Hub, and recently invested American Rescue Plan funding to support the integration of this new data source.Learn more about the department’s plan for transforming unemployment insurance.