Bedford contractor pays $300,000 penalty for labor violations

Nov. 12—The U.S. Department of Labor announced it has recovered more than $300,000 in back wages and damages from a Bedford landscaping contractor who earlier this year was found liable for violating federal labor laws.

An investigation by the department found that Ulster Property Services LLC and its owner, Kieran Rice, had violated requirements regarding overtime, minimum wages, child labor and record keeping, according to a news release.

Investigators found that the company had failed to pay 59 of its employees overtime, failed to pay one employee for all hours worked, employed a 17-year-old to work as a driver who did not have a valid driver's license, and failed to maintain proper records, according to the news release.

A consent order filed in May in U.S. District Court in Concord ordered the company to pay more than $155,000 in back wages and the same amount in liquidated damages to affected workers. The judge also issued a permanent injunction barring company officials from employing workers for more than 40 hours without overtime pay or for less than the minimum wage, and from retaliating against workers.

The May court order indicated that the defendants had certified that their current employment practices are in compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress following a tax fraud conviction, is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament, according to friends who are raising funds to pay for the ex-lawmaker's medical care. Grimm, 54, suffered the devastating injury in September and is now being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where the late actor Christopher Reeve was treated after a similar equestrian accident in 1995, according to Vincent Ignizio, a friend of Grimm's who is a former New York City Council member. "It was a passion of his and he suffered a tragic accident at the end of September," said Ignizio, who has set up a GoFundMe account to pay for Grimm's medical care.

Chipotle Mexican Grill was sued on Monday by shareholders for concealing how many of its restaurants were skimping on portions, forcing the chain to spend more on ingredients and hurting its stock price. In a proposed class action filed in Santa Ana, California federal court, shareholders said Chipotle failed to disclose growing unhappiness among customers with inconsistent portion sizes for its burritos and rice bowls. They said the truth came out as customers voiced dismay on TikTok and other social media, prompting Chipotle to reemphasize what CEO Scott Boatwright and his predecessor Brian Niccol called "generous portions" at its more than 3,600 restaurants.