CALIFORNIA—The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a preliminary court order and restraining order against a logistics company in Calexico to protect its workers from retaliation and ensure the integrity of an ongoing federal investigation.
During an inspection by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, NBG Logistics Alliance Inc. attempted to hide its workers, moving them off the worksite and keeping them hidden in a nearby fast-food restaurant until the investigators left.
Subsequently, the company transferred these employees across the border to Mexicali, where they were fired, and all evidence of their employment was erased from company systems.
The court order, issued on July 31, 2024, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, is the result of an ongoing investigation into potential violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by NBG Logistics Alliance.
The investigation aims to determine whether the company paid its workers in pesos through its Mexican affiliate, Agencia Aduanal Guillermo Nogueira y Asociados S.C., instead of complying with California wage regulations.
A regional attorney in San Francisco condemned NBG Logistics Alliance’s actions, calling them a despicable attempt to obstruct justice. “The company hid workers in a fast-food restaurant for hours to prevent them from being interviewed by investigators. They later instructed the workers to work in Mexico before firing them and erasing records that could have evidenced their violations.“
The preliminary court order prohibits NBG Logistics Alliance from engaging in several actions aimed at obstructing the investigation and protecting the workers, including:
- Retaliation against employees: The company is prohibited from taking any retaliatory action against workers believed to have cooperated with the investigation.
- Interference with the investigation: The company is not allowed to interfere with, obstruct, or dissuade employees from cooperating with investigators.
- Threats to family members: The company is barred from contacting or threatening to contact workers’ families or friends to prevent them from cooperating with the investigation.
- Destruction of evidence: The company is prohibited from destroying any evidence related to the investigation.
In addition to these prohibitions, the court has ordered NBG Logistics Alliance to restore all data, messages, and programs deleted from computers and mobile phones that contain relevant information for the investigation.
This case underscores the importance of protecting workers’ rights and maintaining the integrity of federal investigations.
