Two construction companies in New Jersey are facing a hefty bill after getting caught shortchanging their workers. The U.S. Department of Labor just ordered Innovative Design and Development LLC, E&N Construction Inc., and their bosses—Shawn Roney, Joaquim Ferreira, and Elio Ferreira—to pay up a whopping $600,000 in back wages and damages to 131 former employees.

So, what happened? Well, these companies were playing a sneaky game with their workers' paychecks. Instead of paying overtime like they were supposed to, they gave employees a "bonus" check for the extra hours, but at their regular pay rate. That's totally illegal, folks!

Not only that, they tried to hide their dirty deeds by keeping crappy records of how many hours people actually worked. That's a big no-no too.

"These guys thought they could get away with stealing their employees' hard-earned money," said Jeffrey S. Rogoff, a bigwig at the Department of Labor. "But we caught them red-handed, and they're going to pay the price."

In addition to the big bucks they owe their workers, the companies are also banned from breaking labor laws again and can't retaliate against employees who spoke up. Plus, they have to spread the word about workers' rights by handing out flyers.

"This is a clear message to other bad bosses," said Paula Ruffin, another person in charge at the Department of Labor. "If you cheat your workers, you'll get caught, and you'll pay dearly for it."