US Labor Department secures court ruling requiring Texas-based Company to pay $1.76 million to workers!

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Complete Concepts Consulting works with business owners to put the necessary strategies in place to protect them from this type of payout. Click here to schedule our complimentary compliance consultation valued at $300. The comprehensive consultation will detail the top compliance vulnerabilities that could have detrimental financial consequences for your business!

Don’t believe that the consequences of non-compliance could be the end of your business, you must read the story below and ask yourself, “Can I afford a $1,760,000 hit for non-compliance?”

DES MOINES, Iowa – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a partial summary judgment requiring Hill Country Farms, doing business as Henry’s Turkey Service, and president Kenneth Henry to pay more than $1.76 million in back wages and liquidated damages for violating the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The judgment partially resolves a lawsuit filed by the Labor Department following an investigation by the Des Moines District Office of its Wage and Hour Division.

The judgment, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Davenport, concluded that the defendants willfully violated the FLSA by failing to properly pay 31 workers with disabilities. Henry’s Turkey Service supplied the workers to the West Liberty Foods turkey processing plant in West Liberty, where most worked on the plant’s processing line.

“Working on a poultry processing line is a particularly difficult and dangerous job,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Henry’s Turkey Service exploited vulnerable employees who have a right to, and deserve, every penny that they earned.”

Henry’s Turkey Service, based in Goldthwaite, Texas, paid the workers $65 a month in cash wages even when company time sheets reflected that they worked more than 40 hours a week. Besides employing the workers, the company provided in-kind care, room and board, serving as the workers’ caretaker as well as the designated representative payee of their Social Security benefits. Henry’s Turkey Service claimed credit for the food, housing and care against its wage obligation; however, the company also reimbursed itself for those expenses using the workers’ Social Security benefits. The court found that the company failed to show that it incurred any costs above the amount received from the Social Security benefits and denied the credit toward the workers’ wages.

The judgment requires that the defendants pay $880,777 in back wages, along with an equal amount in liquidated damages, for a total of $1,761,554. This case was litigated by the Labor Department’s regional solicitor in Kansas City, Mo....

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Top 5 HR Mistakes Made by Businesses!

by Complete Concepts Consulting

HR mistakes for any company can be costly, but for small businesses, it can be catastrophic. HR mistakes can have a significant effect on the potential survival of a company. Below are the top 5 HR mistakes most commonly made. With government oversight at an all time high, it is critical to be aware, be proactive and be in compliance. Click here to request more information about Complete Concepts Consulting's complimentary compliance consultation to help businesses identify potential risks and save money! Non-Compliance with Government Regulations. Many small business owners are unfamiliar with the majority of laws that govern the workplace. While most but not all federal laws cover companies as small as 15 employees there are few regulations that do not apply to your business. Companies must also comply with State and local regulations which make it difficult for business owners to have a thorough knowledge of every regulation affecting their business. Businesses need the knowledge but they don’t know it. Hiring the Wrong Person. Many small business owners hire people but do not take the proper steps to ensure that the person is right for the job.  In some cases, the job has not been clearly defined, skills needed for the job are not laid out and the recruiting process is not documented. Because the owners have good intentions and want to help people, they often don’t conduct background screenings. They often miss a “skeleton in the closet” which leaves the business liable for any misdeed carried out by that employee. Misclassifying Employees. One law that applies to almost all employers regardless of size is the Fair Labor Standards Act. This complicated regulation governs most compensation issues including overtime pay. Paying someone a Salary does not make them exempt from overtime and calling someone an independent contractor does not make them so. It is estimated that 70% of businesses routinely violate wage and hour law under this act. Lack of Documentation. Documentation in most companies is typically an afterthought. In many small businesses it is non-existent. More often than not, I-9 forms which prove a person's eligibility to work in the US are incomplete. Discipline records are almost never there and terminations generally are not supported which result in lost unemployment cases and lawsuits either lost or settled for unforeseen amounts of money that can cripple a small business. Not Motivating Employees. Employees value rewards, and not just monetary ones.  In today’s economy, employees are feeling under-appreciated and overworked. As the job market begins to improve, unhappy employees will begin to look for other opportunities often taking knowledge learned at your business to a competitor. Employee turnover can be devastating to a small business. Small business owners must be vigilant in protecting what they have worked so hard to create. While you may not have the money for an internal HR team, services offered like those from Complete Concepts Consulting will  help limit your risk from non-compliance, recruit and retain top employees, and give you the freedom to grow your business.

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Unemployment rate falls to 2-year low!


Abridged: The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8% in March, capping the strongest two months of hiring since before the recession began. The economy added 216,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said recently. Factories, retailers, the education and health care sectors and professional and financial services all expanded payrolls. Another month of brisk hiring provided the latest sign that the economy is strengthening.

Private employers drove the gains by adding more than 200,000 jobs for a second straight month. The unemployment rate dipped from 8.9% in February. Economists predict employers will continue to add jobs at roughly the same pace for the rest of this year. That would generate about 2.5 million new positions. Local governments cut 15,000 workers last month and are expected to keep shedding jobs. Workers' paychecks were flat in March. Average hourly earnings held steady at $22.87. The number of unemployed people dipped to 13.5 million in March. The percentage of "underemployed" people dropped to 15.7 percent in March.

Professional and business services, including accountants, bookkeepers, engineers and computer designers, added 78,000 positions. Factories added 17,000 jobs, marking the fifth straight month of gains. Retailers added nearly 18,000 jobs. Financial services expanded payrolls by 6,000. Education and health services expanded employment by 45,000, leisure and hospitality added 37,000 jobs.


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Complete Concepts Consulting (CCC) is a human resources consulting agency in Chicago, Illinois specializing in small business Employment and Labor Law Compliance; Policy and Procedures creation and enforcement; Team Leadership and Employee Training; Recruiting; Strategic Planning; Coaching and Mentoring; Employee Retention; Payroll and Benefits Administration; Performance Management; Compensation Planning; Employee Relations; Efficiency Optimization; Process and System Improvements; Succession Planning; Relationship Management.


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