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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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NEW YORK -- Advanced Professional Marketing Inc. (APMI), a New York City medical staffing company, and company president Marissa Beck have agreed to pay 247 current and former employees a total of $211,120 in back wages and interest to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The Labor Department’s suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York following an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions with regard to the workers, who were placed by the company in various medical facilities in the New York metropolitan area. The investigation revealed that these workers were often required to work more than 40 hours many workweeks without being compensated properly for the overtime hours worked. The investigation also found that the company and Beck did not keep proper records of the number of hours employees worked.
The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage as well as one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Additionally, the law requires that accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained.
“This legal action by the Labor Department demonstrates that we will not hesitate to file suit against employers who violate the law by failing to properly pay their employees for all the hours they work,” said Philip Jacobson, district director for the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in New York City.
A consent judgment agreed to by the parties prohibits the defendants from future violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions. It orders the company and Beck to pay back wages totaling $200,000. In addition, they are ordered to pay the employees post judgment interest totaling $11,120. The defendants agreed to entry of the judgment without admitting the alleged violations contained in the department’s suit.
If the defendants fail to make any of the payments, the court will appoint a receiver with power to seize and liquidate their assets to satisfy the order. They are also ordered to advise employees of their rights under the FLSA, in particular their right to engage in protected activity without fear of retaliation.
The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division office in Manhattan investigated this case, and the suit was filed by the department’s Regional Solicitor’s Office in New York City. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, contact the Wage and Hour Division office in Manhattan at 212-264-8185 or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.
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