DOL Secures $107K in Overtime Back Wages From Employers
February 19, 2021
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that a Florida-based HVAC contractor has paid $20,547 to 18 employees after an investigation found that the employer failed to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Ft. Lauderdale employer also paid two of its workers flat weekly salaries, regardless of the number of hours they actually worked, and failed to maintain payroll records as required by the FLSA. In a separate case, the WHD announced that a Michigan resort operator paid its workers only for the hours they were scheduled, not for the hours they actually worked, resulting in violations of the overtime provisions of the FLSA. The employer will pay $87,529 in overtime back wages to 256 workers. The WHD also determined that the employer violated the FLSA by failing to pay employees for work performed before or after their scheduled shifts; paying servers overtime based on their direct wages as tipped workers, rather than on the full minimum wage; paying one employee a flat salary regardless of the number of hours worked; and failing to maintain accurate payroll records. The WHD also found that the resort operator scheduled 14- and 15-year old workers to work after 7 p.m., more than three hours on a school day, and more than 18 hours in a workweek while school was in session. The employer has paid a civil money penalty of $7,513 for these child labor violations.
