Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, March 1 and Friday, March 8

—GEORGIA KILLER—

Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that on Aug. 10, 2023, two Pyles Plumbing and Utility Contractors Inc. employees in Macon, GA were installing sewer-line piping in a trench when the trench’s side collapsed. One worker suffered fatal injuries, and another employee was hospitalized due to several fractures sustained in the cave-in.

OSHA cited the employer for two willful violations for not providing trench shields that were in accordance with all specifications, recommendations and limitations issued by the manufacturer; and neglecting to put in place a safe means to exit a trench box. 

In addition, federal investigators cited the employer for three serious violations for allowing employees to work inside a trench with defective trench shields, and without head protection, and for failing to train employees to recognize and avoid hazards while working inside a trench.

OSHA has proposed $308,125 in penalties.

—TENNESSEE INTIMIDATOR—

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint and motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent a Henry County farm from allegedly retaliating against two workers who asked about their wages, a protected activity under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Filed by the department on Feb. 21, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, the action asks the court to stop Tosh Pork LLC and human resources manager, Dianna Rosa, from continuing to violate the FLSA through retaliatory actions against employees. Federal law prohibits an employer from firing or discriminating against workers who have filed a complaint or cooperated in its investigation. 

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that two Tosh Pork workers who provide animal care to the farm’s pigs cooperated with division investigators after the workers asked their employer about their pay. After Tosh Pork learned of an initial complaint, the employer tasked one employee with cleaning offices and bathrooms – as well as picking up pig waste — activities outside of their normal job duties. After accusing the employee of filing a federal complaint — Tosh Pork allegedly tried to force them to sign a document forbidding them from speaking with other employees about pay issues. 

Investigators also learned another worker, who had also asked about their wages, was called to meet with the farm’s management and threatened with termination. Returning to their workstation, they found a severed pig’s head. 

“Tosh Pork’s appalling actions and clear attempts to intimidate and retaliate against its employees will not be tolerated,” explained Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta. “The U.S. Department of Labor will use every tool available to ensure the protections afforded to workers under the law.”

During its investigation, the agency also determined Tosh Pork failed to meet employment requirements for H-2A visa workers, and corresponding U.S. workers, under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The division found the employer owed five workers $39,375 in back wages and assessed $36,731 in civil money penalties. 

“Federal law protects employees who provide information to the U.S. Department of Labor,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “Any worker who wishes to share concerns about their workplace with our trained professionals should know that they can do so without fear of being fired or discriminated against at their workplace.”

Through the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, Tosh Pork employs people from foreign countries to work on its farm. The company owns 11,000 acres of land where it produces swine and grows corn, soybeans, wheat, canola and barley. Tosh Pork LLC has sold its products for national and international distribution to JBS USA, Kroger and Costco.

The Wage and Hour Division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone – regardless of where they are from – with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 

The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

—TENNESSEE CHILD ABUSERS—

The owner of 20 Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries locations has entered an enhanced compliance agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that aims to improve working conditions for minor-aged employees and compliance with federal labor regulations at their 20 locations in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

The agreement comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated The Little Mint Inc. – operating as Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries in Crossville – and determined the employer employed 13 children to work after 7 p.m. between Labor Day and June 1 and more than three hours during a school day, both violations of the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, the employer employed a 15-year-old to use manual fryers for cooking fries, a prohibited task for workers under the age of 16.

As part of the agreement, The Little Mint must take the following steps at each of their establishments – to include any current and future locations owned, controlled or operated alone or in conjunction with others – to ensure future compliance: 

• Not allow 14- and 15-year-olds to use manual fryers or engage in cooking activities in any of the occupations prohibited under the law.

• Refrain from employing 14- and 15-year-olds to work outside of the hours permitted by law.

• Distribute a copy of the child labor provisions for non-agricultural occupations under the FLSA to all current and future locations owned by the enterprise and require all managers and shift leaders to review it annually and return a compliance acknowledgement.

• Post notices on machines that 14- and 15-year-olds are not legally allowed to use. 

• Require all 14- and 15-year-old workers, and their parents or guardians, to sign an understanding of the child labor occupational and hours requirements under the law.

• Ensure area directors perform quarterly reviews of time records for 14- and 15-year-old workers.

• Mandate that employees under the age of 16 are distinguishable from other workers with modified uniform requirements and different color name tags. 

The agency assessed $11,453 in penalties for The Little Mint to address the child labor violations. 

“Employers must never jeopardize the safety and well-being of young workers or interfere with their education. While learning new skills in the workforce is an important part of growing up, children must be protected from workplace hazards. That protection is an employer’s obligation,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “The Fair Labor Standards Act allows for appropriate work opportunities for young people but includes important restrictions on their work hours and job duties to keep kids safe.” 

Headquartered in Mt. Olive, NC and operating as Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries, The Little Mint Inc. manages three Georgia locations in Brunswick, Kingsland and Waycross; two Louisiana locations in Denham Springs and Zachary; 11 North Carolina locations in Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greenville, Havelock, Hope Mills, Morehead City, Mt. Olive, New Bern, Rocky Mount, Wallace and Wilson; two Tennessee locations in Crossville and Fayetteville; and two Texas locations in Athens and Ennis. In all, the enterprise employs nearly 160 workers.   

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division found child labor violations in more than 950 investigations, resulting in more than $8 million in penalties assessed to employers. 

“Employers must avoid violations or potentially face costly consequences. The department offers numerous child labor compliance resources and employers may contact their local Wage and Hour Division office directly for guidance,” added Kelly.

The YouthRules! initiative promotes positive and safe work experiences for teens by providing information about protections for young workers to youth, parents, employers and educators. Through this initiative, the U.S. Department of Labor and its partners promote developmental work experiences that help prepare young workers to enter the workforce. The Wage and Hour Division has also published Seven Child Labor Best Practices for Employers to help employers comply with the law.

Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the agency, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 

Workers and employers can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android or iOS Timesheet App for free in English and Spanish.

—MINER DANGERS—

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 15 mines in 10 states in January 2024, issuing 188 violations.

The agency began conducting impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners. 

MSHA’s impact inspections since 2023 identified 2,927 violations, including 827 significant and substantial and 57 unwarrantable failure findings. An S&S violation is one that could contribute in a significant and substantial way to the cause and effect of a safety or health hazard. Violations designated as unwarrantable failures occur when an inspector finds aggravated conduct that constitutes more than ordinary negligence.

The agency conducts impact inspections at mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to poor compliance history; previous accidents, injuries and illnesses; and other compliance concerns. Of the 188 violations MSHA identified in January, 63 were evaluated as S&S and one had unwarrantable failure findings. The agency completed these inspections at mines in Arizona, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

“Because of these impact inspections, MSHA was able to identify powered haulage, highwall, inadequate training and other hazards that endangered miners and require corrective actions to protect miners’ safety and health,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. 

“MSHA’s new written safety program for surface mobile equipment rule is aimed at protecting miners from machinery and powered haulage accidents. The powered haulage violations cited during these impact inspections and the two fatalities that have occurred this year so far reinforce the urgency for the entire mining community that it must continue to focus on hazard identification and powered haulage and machinery accident prevention,” Williamson added.

Inspectors arrived at the Lone Star Quarry and Mill at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on Jan. 24 and broke out into teams to begin an inspection within 15 minutes. 

MSHA inspectors identified and cited 24 violations, including 13 designated as S&S, with several hazardous conditions that posed a significant risk to the safety and health of miners. Specifically, MSHA inspectors found the following conditions existed at the mine:

• Multiple places with unconsolidated loose rock on a highwall, which could cause fatal injuries to miners from falling rock. In 2023, MSHA issued a highwall rock safety alert, and continues to remind operators of best practices such as training miners to recognize highwall hazards, conducting highwall examinations and restricting highwall height.

• Several defects on a haul truck in operation, exposing miners to the risk of serious injury in the event of a steering or dump brake failure.

• Inadequate parking procedures for unattended equipment that exposed miners to crushing hazards. MSHA recently issued a final rule requiring mine operators to have written safety programs for surface mobile equipment to protect miners from machinery and powered haulage accidents.

• Other serious violations, including housekeeping hazards, fire hazards, and electrical hazards. These conditions exposed miners to a risk of injury related to slips, trips and falls, smoke inhalation and burns.

—DISHONORABLE MENTIONS—

• The USDOL cited Atlanta, GA chemical manufacturer SIC Technologies with a staggering 67 serious violations and a proposed penalty of $289,439 for exposing workers to a series of workplace dangers associated with chemicals and struck-by hazards.

• The USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division found 53 locations of Boom-a-Rang Diner failed to properly calculate overtime wages, and recovered $54,423 in back wages and $54,423 in liquidated damages for 107 employees

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement requiring Haifa North America, Inc. (Haifa) in Altamonte Springs, Florida, to pay a civil $664,267 penalty for violations of chemical data reporting regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

• The USDOL recovered $438,625 in back wages, unpaid bonuses, equitable remedy and liquidated damages for two former Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama after the employer violated their rights to protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

• A Camp Hill, Alabama electrical contractor could have prevented a 22-year-old electrician from incurring life-threatening arc flash burns by following safety procedures they knew were standard in the industry, a USDOL investigation found. OSHA proposed $93,566 in penalties for Smith’s Electrical Service & Repair. 

• The USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division found that Gaston Group LLC – operating as 7-Eleven in Fort Worth – failed to pay 21 employees for all hours worked, leading to minimum wage and overtime violations. The Department recovered $20,914 in owed back wages, $20,914 in liquidated damages and $13,965 in civil money penalties.

• USDOL safety investigators found a Selma brick manufacturer exposed workers to silica crystalline respiratory hazards that have the potential to lead to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Henry Brick Co. Inc. with 11 serious citations and proposed $124,212 in penalties.

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