HONOLULU — The U.S. Department of Labor is actively seeking hundreds of workers who are owed their share of more than $3.8 million in unpaid overtime deliberately withheld by a Kilauea staffing agency and Lihue cleaning contractor following a federal investigation and litigation.
HONOLULU — The U.S. Department of Labor is actively seeking hundreds of workers who are owed their share of more than $3.8 million in unpaid overtime deliberately withheld by a Kilauea staffing agency and Lihue cleaning contractor following a federal investigation and litigation.
“Overtime worked should be overtime paid,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Min Kirk in a release from the U.S. Department of Labor. “An employer cannot evade their responsibility for overtime pay by using schemes such as excluding workers from payroll or under-reporting their actual work hours.”
The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division discovered that Alacrity Employment Services in Kilauea and Hawaii Care and Cleaning Inc. in Lihue deprived 1,133 employees of their rightful overtime wages between March 5, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2024. Investigators also determined the employers frequently falsified pay records to mask their violations.
On Jan. 14, the Labor Department’s Office of the Solicitor obtained a consent judgement in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii requiring Hawaii Care and Cleaning, Alacrity Employment Services, and their respective owners, William Allen and Amy Galtes, to pay $1.9 million in back wages, and an equal amount in damages to the affected workers.
Additionally, the judgement directs Hawaii Care and Cleaning and Alacrity Employment Services to pay $50,000 in civil money penalties given their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The release stated that anyone who was employed by these two companies between March 5, 2021, and Nov. 13, 2024, should contact the Wage and Hour Division’s Honolulu District Office at 808-541-1361 to find out if back wages and damages are owed.
A Wage and Hour Division search tool can assist anyone who thinks they may be owed back wages. Employers and workers can call the division with questions and requests for compliance assistance through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-US-WAGE, or 866-487-9243.
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