More than $250,000 in back wages owed to workers of staffing agencies

Mar. 15—Federal officials are looking to distribute $250,000 in back wages and damages to more than 200 current and former employees of two staffing agencies in Massachusetts that placed workers with companies in New Hampshire, Maine and the Bay State.

A federal court in Boston entered a consent judgment in May of 2023, ordering two Middlesex County employment staffing agencies and their owners to pay a total of $256,992 in back wages and liquidated damages to 238 current and former employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor secured the ruling following an investigation of the staffing agencies' payment practices under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The department's Wage and Hour Division is looking to locate and distribute the money to the workers who are owed back wages and damages.

Empone Inc. of Lowell and Talenique Inc. of Tyngsboro supplied temporary employees to companies such as Greenhead Lobster Products LLC in Stonington, Maine; Maine Coast Shellfish LLC in York, Maine; Bombay Duck Company Ltd. in Acton, Massachusetts; and Alene Candles LLC in Milford, federal officials said.

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Empone and Talenique violated the FLSA by failing to pay employees time and a half for any hours over 40 worked in a week.

The investigation also uncovered FLSA recordkeeping violations, officials said.

Empone and Talenique have paid the wages and liquidated damages owed to the division, which is distributing the funds to workers.

The two firms will also pay $463,407 in civil penalties to the labor department, officials said.

"These staffing agencies failed to pay their workers time and a half for hours worked over 40 per week," Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos said in a statement. "Instead, Empone and Talenique denied the workers the full wages they should have received."

"This case sends a clear message that the U.S. Department of Labor will not tolerate employers that shortchange workers of their hard-earned wages and that such actions can have costly consequences for employers who disregard the law," Regional Solicitor of Labor Maia Fisher said in a statement.

The Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association in Lowell is assisting the Wage and Hour Division in locating employees that are due back wages and damages, as many of the workers speak Khmer and may have moved or are unaware they are owed the monies they earned.

Workers can contact the association at 978-454-6200 or the Wage and Hour Division's Boston District Office at 617-624-6700.