Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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Sugar Land, Texas-based company to pay nearly $400,000 in back overtime wages to employees in Texas and New York
SUGAR LAND, Texas -- RBG USA Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $400,000 in back overtime wages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that 482 contract engineers, and construction and technical personnel in Sugar Land, Texas, and Cohocton, N.Y., were not properly paid as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
“When computing overtime pay, employers are required to include the value of other types of compensation, including incentive pay, in the regular rate for overtime purposes,” said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “This employer violated the law, and we are pleased that our action will result in the payment of nearly $400,000 to these workers.”
The Wage and Hour Division’s Houston office determined that RBG USA failed to include hourly incentive rates that ranged from $7 to $12 per hour in regular pay rates when computing overtime for workers. As a result, 368 employees of RBG USA in Sugar Land are due a total of $345,795 and 114 workers in Cohocton, N.Y., are due a total of $48,926.
RBG USA, which provides services to oil, gas, petrochemical and wind power industries throughout the United States, is scheduled to pay back wages by Dec. 11.
The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and receive overtime at one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.
For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Houston at 713-339-5500. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.
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