TAMPA — Residents of one of the city's largest homeless programs have resumed working at Raymond James Stadium, but with a major difference — now they're getting paid.

Men from New Beginnings of Tampa worked concessions and cleanup at Thursday's Outback Bowl and the last two Tampa Bay Buccaneers home games for All Team Staffing, a company that provides temporary labor, primarily in the food service and hospitality industries.

Unlike under a previous arrangement with Aramark, the concessions company for Raymond James, New Beginnings residents who work for All Team Staffing get paid. Renee LaFauci, president of All Team Staffing's Tampa franchise, said her company pays the men directly, not New Beginnings.

"The guys are really good, and we have not had one issue with them," LaFauci said.

In December, Aramark and Tampa Bay Rays concessions company Centerplate ended their relationships with New Beginnings after a series of Tampa Bay Times stories about the charity's controversial "work therapy" program, which requires its homeless residents to work for their shelter and food.

In exchange for the labor, Aramark and Centerplate made commissions-based donations to New Beginnings, which depended on the money for a significant portion of its finances. Such arrangements are common in the concessions industry, which often outsources stadium staffing to volunteers working on behalf of nonprofits.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor has confirmed it is investigating New Beginnings for compliance with federal labor law. For years, New Beginnings founder and CEO Tom Atchison has worked his homeless residents in a number of side business — including construction, telemarketing and landscaping — to bring money into his program.

While there are broad exemptions to federal labor law for nonprofits, legal experts said, New Beginnings' contractual arrangements with for-profit companies like Aramark and Centerplate raised concerns of possible violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Atchison said he has no problem with All Team paying his men directly. In the past, Atchison has required residents to sign over mail and income to New Beginnings while staying there, with the promise that they'll get to take their money with them after subtracting $600 monthly rent and program fees when they leave.

"We're very blessed, and we're very happy with All Team," he said.

Atchison said he expects the Department of Labor to finish its investigation within the next month.

"I anticipate it saying they found nothing, we're not violating any labor laws," Atchison said. "We're going to come out clean."

Department of Labor spokesman Lindsay Williams said his agency usually doesn't comment on active inquiries, but did in this case because Atchison has told other media outlets the investigation is over.

"It's definitely not over," Williams said. "He keeps saying that … I talked to the director of the investigation … It's open and ongoing."

Contact Will Hobson at whobson@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3400. Follow @TheWillHobson.