The proposed Wabash District #348 budget is now on display at the district office. At last week’s school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer said a very rough draft of the budget is what’s on display…
A budget hearing will be held prior to the September school board meeting at 6:45pm.
Wabash County’s current economic situation is strong according to one state official. Eric Mankela is a labor market economist with the Illinois Department of Employment Security and was at last week’s Mt. Carmel City Council meeting to report on the services available to workers, employers, and potential employers. He said conditions in Wabash County are positive…
The June unemployment rate in Wabash County stood at 4.5%. Brown and Effingham Counties are the only other two counties in Illinois with a rate lower than Wabash County.
The issues with the Mt. Carmel City Pool have been well documented with one of the biggest problems being the loss of over 30,000 gallons of water a day. But where does that lost water go? Mayor Joe Judge says that’s a question he’s heard often…
The pool will be open three days for the upcoming Labor Day weekend and then close for good next Tuesday the 3rd with the shelter buddies dog swim.
On August 25, 2024, at 11:28 a.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a report of a two vehicle personal injury accident at the intersection of County Road 400 South and County Road 350 West. Upon arriving at the intersections emergency service personnel discovered one critically injured patient. Special Deputy Chuck Frederick began an initial investigation into the incident where he determined that a Buick Century was Northbound on County Road 350 West and failed to yield the right of way to a Chevy Malibu that was Eastbound on County Road 400 South. As a result the Chevy Malibu struck the Buick Century in a right angle collision.
The Gibson County Ambulance Service and Owensville Montgomery Township Fire attempted to resuscitate one of the drivers, but ultimately the driver passed away at the scene. The other driver was taken to an Evansville area hospital.
Assisting the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office in their investigation was the Fort Branch Police Department.
On August 22, 2024, at 11:39 p.m. Gibson County Deputy Wyatt Hunt conducted a traffic stop on a 2012 Dodge Journey for speeding on Broadway near US 41 in Princeton. Deputy Hunt conducted the traffic stop in the parking lot of Marathon Fastbreak located at 3010 West Broadway, and upon approaching the vehicle he identified the driver as 44 year old Nicolette Whitfield of Princeton. While speaking with Ms. Whitfield Deputy Hunt detected clues that she was under the influence of an unknown intoxicant. At that point Deputy Hunt began a roadside OWI investigation. Once the investigation was completed Deputy Hunt placed Ms. Whitfield into custody and transported her to the Gibson County Jail where she was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated and Possession of Methamphetamines.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
On August 22, 2024, at 4:24 p.m. Deputy Eric Powell was dispatched to the Gibson County Community Corrections Center to assist in a developing investigation. Upon arriving Deputy Powell spoke with Community Corrections employee Brandy Sisk and she informed him that she had observed 40 year old Amanda Pemberton attempting to use a device to interfere with a drug screen. At that point Deputy Powell and Mrs. Sisk began a formal investigation into the incident. At the conclusion of the investigation Ms. Pemberton was taken into custody and transported to the Gibson County Jail where she was charged with Interfering with a drug screening and possession of a device or substance that is used to interfere with a screening test.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
EVANSVILLE, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment in which an Evansville diner owner and his restaurant will pay $390,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 44 employees to resolve litigation brought after the department’s investigation found the restaurant operated an invalid top pool, denied workers overtime pay and retaliated against employees who cooperated with investigators.
The order by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on Aug. 20, 2024, also requires Friendship Diner LLC and owner, Bardhyl Shabani, to pay $10,000 in civil money penalties for the repeated and willful nature of its violations and forbids the employers from all future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“The court order should remind all employers that every employee has the right to cooperate with federal investigators or to question their employers’ pay practices without fear of harassment or retaliation,” explained Regional Solicitor Christine Heri in Chicago. “The Department of Labor will continue to hold employers who violate workers’ rights accountable for their wrongful actions and take steps to prevent future violations.”
In addition to the payment of back wages, damages and penalties, the order requires Friendship Diner and Shabani to post and display the court judgment in the restaurant along with contact information for the local Wage and Hour Division office and provide employees with a copy of the Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Shabani must also attend an upcoming Southern Indiana outreach event on wage laws.
On Feb. 28, 2024, the department filed a complaint in federal court seeking back wages and liquidated damages for 44 workers employed by Friendship Diner LLC after the employers failed to resolve the findings of the Wage and Hour Division’s investigation. Specifically, the division determined the following:
The diner operated an illegal tip-sharing pool by requiring servers to return $10 in tips for each weekday shift and $15 in tips for each weekend shift to management. The employers either kept the tips or used them to pay bussers’ hourly wages. By misusing these tips, the employers invalidated their tip credit.
Shabani failed to pay overtime at time and one-half the regular rate-of-pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, did not pay workers the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and failed to keep accurate payroll records as required.
“The court order will return these wages to the people who rightfully earned them,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Aaron Loomis in Indianapolis. “Any worker with questions about the wages they’re due should contact the Department of Labor for assistance and clarification.”
On March 6, 2024, the department filed a request for a restraining order and injunction after learning Shabani was harassing and threatening employees in an attempt to coerce them into giving false statements to investigators about the mandatory nature of the diner’s tip pool, an FLSA violation. In response, the court forbid the employers from any form of harassment, intimidation or retaliation against employees on May 13, 2024.
Attorney Haley R. Jenkins in the department’s Regional Office of the Solicitor in Chicago is litigating the case.
Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.
For more information about the FLSA and other laws that prohibit retaliation, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions, and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of where a caller is from. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.
Just how much will a new city pool cost property owners if voters approve a tax referendum in November? Kings Financial Consulting has generated price tag for the $3.5 million bond levy. A home with a value of $50,000, the additional tax would be $35.20 a year. For a $75,000 house, the increase would be $62.70 a year while a $100,000 home would see an increase of $90.20 a year in property taxes. For a $150,000 home, the increase would be $145.20 a year; a $200,000 house would be $200.20 a year extra and a $250,000 house would be $255.20 extra annually.
Mayor Joe Judge reported at Monday’s City Council meeting that a pool advisory committee has been formed….
If approved, the tax increase would be for 20 years.
