Department of Labor orders Weaver to pay $425,000

George Weaver, the New York-based trainer, has reached a settlement with the Department of Labor to pay $425,000 in back wages, damages, and civil penalties over labor violations to nearly 60 hot walkers and grooms.

Weaver was cited for a number of violations regarding employees in his stable who were working under the H-2B visa program. The Department of Labor has been conducting aggressive investigations of New York trainers for several years, and Weaver is the latest to be ordered to pay enormous judgments regarding labor violations.

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The Department of Labor said that Weaver routinely failed to pay his H-2B employees the required hourly wage and did not pay overtime. In addition, the Department of Labor said that Weaver did not comply with a number of requirements of the H-2B visa program, such as failing to disclose benefits to prospective U.S. workers. It also said that Weaver collected cash to cover travel costs of H-2B workers.

The Department of Labor also said that Weaver instructed his employees to under-report their hours if interviewed by the department’s inspectors, and charged him with “attempting to intimidate employees from participating” in the investigation.

Under the H-2B visa program, employers must advertise their jobs in U.S. marketplaces and pay travel costs to and from the home countries of workers with visas. Many trainers across the U.S. rely on the H-2B visa program for backstretch workers, contending that U.S. workers are not willing to do the jobs.

The consent agreement requires Weaver to “designate a compliance officer” to oversee the stable’s pay practices and implement an electronic timekeeping system for stable employees. Other trainers who have been penalized by the Department of Labor have had to comply with similar requirements.

New York horsemen’s officials have said that many trainers have failed to adjust to modern bookkeeping and labor practices. For decades, backstretch employees have typically been paid a flat weekly rate for work, despite long work weeks that often involve split shifts and irregular hours.

New York trainers who have reached settlements with either state or federal labor regulators over the last two years include Chad Brown, Linda Rice, Kiaran McLaughlin, Leo O’Brien, James Jerkens, and Doodnauth Shivmangal. McLaughlin cited the labor investigations and the high costs of training when deciding to retire as a trainer earlier this year, and another longtime New York trainer, Gary Contessa, retired shortly thereafter, citing in part the strain the labor audits had put on his operation.

Weaver began training in 2002. Horses under his care have won 804 races and earned $38.9 million in purses.