Category Archives: Landscaping

July 17, 2011 · 9:49 pm

$18,496 paid to 42 H2B visa workers of Vanderbilt Landescaping, LLC for wage violations

Vanderbilt Landscaping, LLC recently agreed to pay $18,496 to 42 workers after a WHD investigation found workers were not compensated for visa and transportation costs that reduced their wages below the federal minimum wage. The company also failed to compensate workers for all hours spent on job duties, resulting in them not receiving overtime pay when hours worked exceeded 40 hours in a week. Back wages in that case have been paid to all workers who could be located.

The H-2B program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to perform nonagricultural labor or services in the United States. The employment must be of a temporary nature for a limited period of time, such as a one-time occurrence or for seasonal, peak load and intermittent needs. The H-2B program requires the employer to attest to the Department of Labor that it will offer a wage that equals or exceeds the highest of the following: the prevailing wage, the applicable federal minimum wage, the state minimum wage or the local minimum wage. That wage must be paid to the H-2B nonimmigrant worker for the occupation in the area of intended employment during the entire period of the approved H-2B labor certification. The H-2B program also establishes certain recruitment and displacement standards in order to protect similarly employed U.S. workers.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as well as time and one-half their regular hourly rates for every hour they work beyond 40 per week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

This blog is sponsored by the Law Office of Rose H. Robbins, established in 1987 and located in Boca Raton, Florida, which serves clients all over Florida.   The firm concentrates in the following areas: Employment Law &  Immigration. Rose H. Robbins is fluent in Spanish and French.  Tel: (954) 946-8130.  Email: rose (at) roserobbins.com

http://www.FLWageLawyers.wordpress.com

Office:  2255 Glades Road,  Suite 324A,    Boca Raton, Florida 33431

The Law Office of Rose H. Robbins, Lawyers and Attorneys, serve all of Florida including South Florida, North Florida, Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County, as well as the cities of Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Margate, Plantation, Aventura, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Springs, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Cooper City and Coconut Creek in unpaid overtime, minimum wage, wage and hour, discrimination claims and immigration matters. Our goal is to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules.

You may contact the Law Offices of Rose H. Robbins for a free consultation to see if you have a case for unpaid overtime or minimum wages by calling (954) 946-8130 or by filling out the confidential form below. If our office decides to accept your case and we enter into a written, signed retainer agreement you will not have to pay anything unless we win your case. Appointments are available at various locations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

Please use the form below to contact the Law Offices of Rose H. Robbins for a free evaluation of your employment concerns or call (954) 946-8130.

Comments Off

Filed under Fair Labor Standards Act ["FLSA"], Landscaping, minimum wage violations, Unpaid Overtime Wages

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

July 3, 2011 · 6:06 pm

H-2B visa workers Can Proceed with FLSA Claims in a case pending in Federal Court in New York rules Judge

Judge ruled  recently that H-2B Workers can proceed with FLSA claims in a case pending in Federal Court in New York

Workers on H-2B visas who were recruited for a landscape services company by third-party recruiters, but not reimbursed for the recruitment, visa and transportation costs they incurred to accept employment, were allowed to proceed with their lawsuit for reimbursement under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Landscape workers, brought into the United States by an independent recruiter  used by the employer, a large landscaping company, claimed that the company failed to reimburse all workers’ travel expenses to get to and from the job as required with the employees’ wages. The employees also claimed that they had paid for the costs of obtaining an H-2B visa, traveling to the United States, and the services of a third-party recruitment firm, which the employer had retained.

The employees sued their employer under the FLSA, claiming that after deducting the costs of recruitment and travel from their earned wages, their net salary fell below minimum wage. The workers sued the employer collectively to recover recruitment costs, visa and transportation costs they incurred to accept employment, s well as liquidated damages.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York denied the employer’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and held instead that the FLSA requires employers to reimburse employees working on H-2B visas for certain expenses paid if, after subtracting the costs from the workers’ wages, the workers’ effective net salary would fall below minimum wage. Because the visa, travel, and recruitment expenses primarily benefited the employer, the court found that the employer was required to reimburse the workers for those costs when the costs brought the employees’ net pay below the minimum wage.    Continue reading →

Comments Off

Filed under H-2B, Landscaping

Tagged as , , , , , , ,