The Fair Labor Standards Act
Strikes Again, and Again, and Again, and Again
Usually, approximately 5-6 times each week, I receive emails
from several Labor Attorney firms as well as the U.S. Department
of Labor (DOL), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on some specific
actions taken against employers for violations of various labor
and employment laws. Below are 9 examples which were received
over the last 7 days of recent violations of one particular law
known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The fines and penalties
range from $46,000 to $2,125,000. It behooves all large and small
employers to understand and be in full compliance with this law.
Many employers have, for many years, had basic misconceptions
about this statute. Unfortunately, these misconceptions can have
a huge negative impact on the bottom line of any organization.
PASCAGOULA,
MS – A Pascagoula, Mississippi staffing agency
for the marine and shipbuilding industries has paid $46,372 in
back wages to 45 employees to resolve overtime and recordkeeping
violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act found in a U.S. Department
of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation.
Wage and Hour Division
investigators found Quality Marine Staffing LLC failed to pay
some employees overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in
a workweek. Instead, the employer artificially labeled a portion
of the employees’ hours as “per
diem” payment, at an hourly rate, and paid that hourly
payment at straight time for overtime hours. In addition, the
division found the employer failed to maintain accurate payroll
records as required by the FLSA.
PHILADELPHIA – A recent
investigation by the DOL’s
Wage and Hour Division has recovered $2,125,429 in back wages
for 456 workers employed by Good Family Support Services Inc.,
which is a non-profit organization in Philadelphia.
The division
found that the employer paid family care workers on an hourly
basis, but paid straight-time rates for overtime hours. Good
Family Support Services also failed to record the number of hours
that two employees worked, and failed to record hourly rates,
violating the FLSA’s recordkeeping requirements.
PITTSBURGH – A
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
in Pittsburgh has issued a consent order requiring the payment
of more than $1.6 million in back wages and damages to 546 home
health aides. The Pittsburgh home health care agency misclassified
the aides as independent contractors and failed to pay required
overtime wages in violation of the FLSA. The court also ordered
payment of $20,000 in civil money penalties.
Investigators determined
that Christian Home Health Care violated the FLSA when the employer:
- Misclassified 546 home health aides as independent contractors
instead of employees, and then failed to pay them overtime
when they worked over 40 hours per week.
- Continued to pay some aides
straight-time rates for overtime hours, even after it began
to classify them correctly as employees.
- Failed to keep a record
of the number of hours worked by office staff.
BALTIMORE, MD –Following an investigation and summary
judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
in Baltimore, the DOL has recovered a total of $499,258 in back
wages and liquidated damages for 62 workers employed by Mezcal
Inc., operator of Mezcal Mexican Restaurant and Bar in Owings
Mills and Lutherville, Maryland.
The Department’s Wage and
Hour Division conducted an investigation that found numerous
violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage
and overtime requirements.
CHICAGO –The DOL’s Wage
and Hour Division has recovered $697,295 in back wages for 60
employees following an investigation of Tank Noodle Inc. Investigators
found the employer owed some workers more than $10,000 each in
back wages and identified numerous violations of the FLSA’s
minimum wage and overtime requirements. The agency also found
the employer failed to keep accurate records of the number of
hours employees worked, as the law requires.
MANCHESTER, NH –The
division recovered $108,043 in back wages for 17 employees. Investigators
found the employer paid cooks and bussers flat salaries, regardless
of the number of hours they worked per week. By paying flat salaries,
the employer failed to pay overtime when those employees worked
more than 40 hours in a workweek, in violation of federal law.
The division also found the employer violated FLSA recordkeeping
requirements when it failed to record the number of hours employees
worked, including time some employees spent transporting other
workers to and from employer-provided housing.
SANIBEL, FL –An
investigation of Island Cow Inc. by the DOL’s Wage and
Hour Division has recovered $222,432 in back wages for 48 workers.
The
division’s investigators determined Island Cow violated
the FLSA by operating an unlawful tip pool, which required tipped
employees to share earnings with non-tipped workers, including
dishwashing assistants and kitchen expeditors. The employer also
classified cooks, a bookkeeper and a bar manager incorrectly
as exempt from overtime requirements, and paid them flat salaries
regardless of the number of hours they worked. By doing so, Island
Cow violated the FLSA when it failed to pay these workers overtime
when they exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also
failed to maintain accurate records of the number of hours employees
worked and of the wages paid to workers, violating FLSA recordkeeping
requirements.
TAMPA, FL – A Tampa restaurant enterprise
has paid $102,894 in back wages to 11 workers after a federal
investigation found the employer illegally denied them overtime
pay.
Wage and Hour Division investigators determined Sarione Restaurant
Inc. – operating as Sarione Korean Restaurant – and
Sarione Grill Inc. violated the FLSA by incorrectly classifying
cooks and dishwashers as exempt from overtime requirements, and
paying them fixed semi-monthly salaries, regardless of the number
of hours they worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay
these workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in
a week. In addition, the employer failed to record the number
of hours the employees worked.
Employers must understand that
paying workers a fixed salary does not automatically excuse them
from paying overtime. Unless a specific exemption applies, even
workers paid on a salary basis must be paid overtime when they
work more than 40 hours in a week.
ORLANDO, FL – An Orlando landscaping employer will
pay $48,978 in back wages to 39 workers after a federal investigation
found the employer paid employees illegally for the hours that
they worked.
Wage and Hour Division investigators determined Aaction
Scape Inc. violated the FLSA by incorrectly classifying workers
as exempt from overtime requirements and paying them flat biweekly
salaries, regardless of the number of hours they worked. By doing
so, the employer failed to pay workers the additional half time
required by the FLSA when they worked more than 40 hours in a
workweek. In addition, the employer failed to keep a record of
the number of hours the employees worked.
A company’s best defense against
the potential expense and aggravation related to federal or
state law violations is to proactively review and revise as
needed all Human Resources policies, handbooks, hiring procedures,
compensation, benefits, training programs, communications tools
and other functions. The professionals of PHHR are ready to
assist your organization with this type of training as well
as to maintain compliance with the latest state and federal
mandates.
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