Labor Department News Releases Update

Nieman Printing Inc. in Dallas has paid $96,335 in overtime back wages to 101 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which found that the company violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Civil money penalties assessed total an additional $26,000.

Mahaffey Tent and Awning Co. Inc., doing business as Mahaffey Fabric Structures, has paid $133,285 in back wages and fringe benefits to 28 current and former workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The investigation found that the company violated the requirements of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor has sued National Council of La Raza Action Fund Inc., successor to Democracia USA, a nonprofit community engagement and Hispanic voter registration organization in Orlando, for allegedly terminating an employee who raised health concerns about potential exposure to mold and other environmental factors in his workplace. The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found that the company unlawfully and intentionally terminated the worker for engaging in activity protected by Section 11(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

I have always believed that public service is a 'family affair.' No one exemplified that more than Lucille Beserra Roybal, the wife of the late Congressman Edward Ross Roybal, and mother of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard. Although she worked tirelessly behind the scenes with her husband and daughter while in the U.S. Congress, Mrs. Roybal made important contributions to the community in her own right. She co-founded the Community Service Organization in California, registered voters throughout Los Angeles and reached out to underserved communities on behalf of local public health and charitable organizations.