Katelyn Walker Mooney Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy | Official Website
The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against a construction contractor from Tonawanda, New York, seeking to recover back wages, damages, and injunctions. The department alleges that National Maintenance Solutions LLC and its president and founder, Thomas W. Pellette, failed to pay minimum wage and overtime to employees working in hotels located in Amherst, Buffalo, Hamburg, New York, and Erie, Pennsylvania.
According to the investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division, employees were paid standard rates for overtime hours or were sporadically underpaid or not paid at all for their work hours. This practice violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. Additionally, it was found that National Maintenance Solutions did not maintain accurate records of employee wages and work hours.
The complaint also accuses Pellette of retaliating against employees who complained about unpaid wages by contacting federal immigration authorities to deport them as a means to avoid paying due wages.
"The U.S. Department of Labor takes allegations of retaliation and failure to pay proper wages very seriously," stated Jeffrey S. Rogoff, Regional Solicitor for the Department of Labor in New York. "Ending workplace retaliation is a priority for the department."
The lawsuit seeks back wages, compensation for damages, punitive damages, and injunctions to prevent current and future violations.
Michael Milazzo, district director of the Wage and Hour Division in Albany, emphasized the importance of free communication with workers during investigations: "Workers have the legally protected right to cooperate in investigations without fear of retaliation."
For more information about the Wage and Hour Division or if you believe you are owed back wages collected by the division, workers can contact them confidentially regardless of immigration status through their helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The agency also offers a Timesheet App available in English and Spanish for iOS and Android devices.
This press release is also available in English.
U.S. v. National Maintenance Solutions LLC and Thomas W. Pellette.
Civil Action No. 24-cv-894
