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Assets of contractor garnished to compel payment of $120,000 judgment
Scarsdale, NY - A painting and construction contractor has paid a total of $120,000 in back wages and liquidated damages ordered by a federal judge earlier in 2005. The payment was compelled through garnishment after the company failed to pay installments to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
An investigation by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division had found that employees of the contractor were often required to work more than 40 hours in a workweek without proper compensation for overtime hours worked. Many employees were also paid with checks they were unable to cash, resulting in minimum wage violations. Finally, the investigation found that the employer maintained virtually none of the employment records required by law.
According to the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division in White Plains, the employer was uncooperative throughout the investigation and, as a result, the department filed suit to recover back wages and damages for affected employees. On May 5, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York signed a consent judgment ordering the employer to come into full compliance with the FLSA and to pay $82,019 in minimum wage and overtime back wages and $37,981 in liquidated damages in installment payments over six months.
The department received only one check for $10,000 from the defendants, who then reneged on paying the balance of $110,000. The Labor Department's attorneys asked the court to issue 'writs of garnishment' on two banks where the defendants held accounts, which the court did in July. That action essentially froze the defendants' assets held by those banks until they satisfied the previous court judgment and paid the back wages and damages.
As a result of this action, the contractor submitted a check for $80,000 to the department on August 2 and one of the garnisheed banks released $30,000 of the defendants' assets on August 23 to satisfy the judgment in full.
Further information:
U.S. Labor Department Garnishes Assets of Scarsdale, N.Y., Painting and Construction Contractor to Compel Payment of $120,000 Judgment
$77,171 in back wages recovered for 43 employees of vehicle distribution facility
Fostoria, OH - A vehicle distribution facility has paid $77,171 in back wages to 43 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
The Wage and Hour Division investigated the business under the FLSA, the federal law that establishes the minimum wage and overtime standards. The investigation disclosed overtime violations for hourly-paid office employees and switcher crews who moved boxcars in the yard. The workers were paid straight-time for all hours and were not paid time and one-half after 40 hours in a week.
The employer cooperated fully during the investigation. After the Wage and Hour Division explained the overtime requirements of the FLSA, the company immediately changed its payroll policies to ensure that all workers are paid properly.
Further information:
U.S. Labor Department Recovers $77,171 in Back Wages for 43 Employees of Ohio Vehicle Distribution Facility
$157,840 in back overtime wages auto repair staff in four States
Cleveland, OH - A chain of auto repair centers has paid $157,840 in overtime back wages to 87 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor' Wage and Hour Division. The business has 31 locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina.
The investigation by the Wage and Hour Division disclosed that 68 salaried estimators, office managers and corporate office support staff were misclassified as exempt from overtime pay. The department also found violations that resulted from the failure to include bonuses and incentives in the calculation of the overtime pay rate for hourly employees. The employer also failed to keep an accurate record of hours worked by some employees.
The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative and professional sales employees. To qualify for the exemption, employees generally must meet certain job duty and salary tests. Under the Labor Department's "Overtime Security" rules, workers earning less than $23,660 per year - or $455 per week - are guaranteed overtime protection.
Further information:
True2Form Collision Repair Centers Pays $157,840 In Back Overtime Wages To Workers In Four States
...back to 13 October 2005
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