HONOLULU, HI – A Honolulu, Hawaii, maritime repair company will pay $239,380 to 47 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer failed to pay the prevailing wages required for work performed on a government-funded contract at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

WHD investigators found Pacific Shipyards International LLC erroneously classified workers as laborers while they performed the duties of more highly skilled and higher paid positions such as boilermakers and painters. As a result, the employer failed to pay employees the correct prevailing wage rates for those job classifications as required under the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA).

"Employers must pay the required prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits stipulated in the government contract for the trade work performed at a federally funded job site," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter, in Honolulu, Hawaii. "We urge all employers to use the tools we offer to help them avoid violations and understand their responsibilities."

Working under a DBA-covered contract, Pacific Shipyards International made repairs on a caisson at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Oahu, Hawaii. A caisson is a large watertight chamber used to enclose a ship during vessel repairs.

WHD provides employers with compliance assistance resources related to the Davis-Bacon Act and the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. For more information about federal regulations on government contracts and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

NASHVILLE, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Accelerated Learning Solutions Inc. – a school management company based in Nashville, Tennessee – has paid $45,378 in back wages to 59 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD determined Accelerated Learning Solutions Inc. – operating as ALS Education - classified data specialists, executive assistants, enrollment specialists, and enrollment administrative specialists incorrectly as exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements, paying them flat weekly salaries without regard to the number of hours that they actually worked. This practice resulted in violations of the FLSA when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but the employer did not pay employees overtime in addition to those salaries. WHD also found ALS Education violated recordkeeping requirements when they failed to record accurately the number of hours employees worked.

"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that all employees receive the wages they have legally earned for all the hours they have worked," said Wage and Hour District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville. The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to confirm that workers are being paid as the law prescribes, and that we will continue to work to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules."

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the WHD, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

DETROIT, MI – Two Detroit area residential care facilities operated by Beaumont Health will pay $400,007 in back wages to 476 employees after investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime and recordkeeping provisions. Investigators determined 283 employees at Beaumont Commons in Dearborn, Michigan, are due $250,659 in back wages, and 193 employees at Botsford Commons in Farmington Hills, Michigan, are due $149,348.

Investigators found Beaumont Health automatically deducted time for meal breaks from employees' recorded work time even when employees were unable to take those breaks. When breaks were not taken, these automatic deductions resulted in unpaid work hours and in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The employer's failure to record accurately the number of hours employees worked resulted in recordkeeping violations under the FLSA. Beaumont cooperated with WHD during the course of the investigation, and made necessary corrections enterprise-wide to ensure they pay employees for all hours worked, as the FLSA requires.

"Employers are responsible for ensuring that they pay all employees the wages they have legally earned, and for keeping accurate records of the number of hours they work," said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell, in Detroit, Michigan. "We encourage employers to contact us for guidance, and to use the wide variety of tools we offer to help them fully understand their responsibilities. Violations like those found in this case can be avoided."

For more information about the FLSA, and other laws enforced by WHD, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to hold two Massachusetts construction companies and two of their officers in civil contempt for not fulfilling the terms of an August 2016 consent judgment and order that requires them to pay $2,359,685 in back wages and liquidated damages to 478 employees.

The 2016 consent judgment and order obliges Force Corp., AB Construction Group Inc. and employers Juliano Fernandes and Anderson dos Santos to make quarterly payments to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) resulting, in part, from their misclassifying the bulk of their employees as independent contractors to avoid paying them overtime wages.

The defendants have paid only $477,900. They currently owe a total of $1,754,129, plus interest, to the affected employees.

The Department's petition asks the court to find the defendants in civil contempt and order them to pay the overdue wages of $1,179,842.55, plus interest. Should the defendants refuse or fail to do so, the Department requests sanctions against them, including imprisonment and daily fines.

"The U.S. Department of Labor will use all available legal tools to ensure that employers comply with their obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act," said Solicitor of Labor Kate S. O'Scannlain.

"These employers conceded that they unlawfully kept the wages of 478 employees, and committed themselves to paying those employees under a consent judgment and order of the court. In violation of that order, the employers have unlawfully kept $1,179,842.55 of their employees' hard-earned wages. After numerous attempts to resolve the employers' continued failure to comply with the court order, the U.S. Department of Labor now asks the court to hold the defendants in contempt and impose all sanctions required, including imprisonment if necessary, to ensure compliance with the court's original order," said Regional Solicitor of Labor for New England Maia Fisher in Boston.

"The defendants' ongoing failure to pay their employees their hard-earned wages shortchanges workers who have waited a long time to be paid, and places law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage," said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton.

"The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring employees receive all the wages they have rightfully earned and employers compete on a level playing field," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston.

WHD's Boston District Office conducted the original investigation. The Department's Boston Regional Office of the Solicitor is litigating the case for the Department.

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, online toolkits, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the WHD, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

# # #

Pizzella v. Force Corporation, AB Construction Group Inc., Juliano Fernandes, and Anderson dos Santos
Civil Action Number: 16-cv-40103-TSH

OAKDALE, PA – Burke Inc. – doing business as Pepperoncini's Pub in Oakdale, Pennsylvania – has paid $12,034 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages to four employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD found that from May 2017 to May 2019, Pepperoncini's Pub paid one kitchen manager and three assistant kitchen managers, straight-time hourly rates regardless of the number of hours that they worked, failing to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The FLSA requires hourly employees to receive time-and-one-half their regular rates of pay for overtime hours. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements by failing to keep required records of employee tips.

"Other employers should use this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure they comply with the law," said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "The U.S. Department of Labor will continue its work to level the playing field so that employers that follow the rules don't find themselves at an economic disadvantage to those who do not. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for guidance and to use the wide variety of tools we provide to help them comply with the law and avoid violations like those found in this case."

"We see too many cases, like this one, involving restaurants that do not pay their back of the house employees proper overtime and that do not follow the tip credit rules," said Philadelphia Regional Counsel Adam Welsh. "It is important for all employers in the restaurant industry, large and small, to take steps to ensure their employees receive the wages they are entitled to under the law."

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

ROME, GA – After a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Neaton Rome Inc. – an automobile parts manufacturer based in Rome, Georgia – has reinstated and paid an employee $13,133 in lost wages as WHD found the employer terminated the employee in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

A WHD investigator found that the employer failed to provide the employee with required notification about whether her absence would qualify for leave after she requested time off for an FMLA-qualifying health condition and provided supporting documentation. After erroneously failing to designate the leave as FMLA-protected, Neaton Rome terminated the employee wrongfully after they assessed disciplinary attendance points for missed work.

Neaton Rome Inc. will reinstate the employee, pay her lost wages, and reinstate her health benefits dating back to the day they terminated her employment. In addition, the employer will grant 160 hours of vacation time that she would have earned on the date of her anniversary with the company, increase the employee's hourly wage to reflect a raise she would have received on the anniversary, and remove disciplinary attendance points they erroneously assessed due to her FMLA-covered absence from work.

"Many Americans rely on the Family and Medical Leave Act for critically needed workplace flexibility precisely when they need it the most," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Williams, in Atlanta, Georgia. "The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employees' rights under the FMLA are protected. We encourage employers to review the numerous tools and resources we provide to help them understand their rights and obligations under this law."

For more information about the FMLA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

NEW YORK, NY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), E-Z Station Inc. - operator of a Mobil gas station in Long Island City, New York - has paid seven employees $129,722 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer also paid $2,706 in penalties.

WHD investigators found that the employer violated the FLSA's overtime requirements when it paid seven employees straight-time rates when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, and failed to pay them for the overtime hours at time-and-one-half their regular rates, as the law requires. The employer also violated minimum wage requirements when it paid one employee – a gas attendant who worked between 70 and 84 hours per week – $6.00 per hour, less than the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage the FLSA requires.

Recordkeeping violations included failing to keep complete and accurate payroll and time records such as time sheets and records of cash payments. WHD also found the employer interfered with the investigation by instructing employees to mislead and provide false information to investigators.

"Employers must pay their employees for all the hours they work – including legally required minimum wage and overtime rates and maintain complete and accurate records. Failure to do so short-changes their employees and puts employers that play by the rules at a competitive disadvantage," said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Jorge Alvarez in New York City. "Other employers should take the resolution of this case as an opportunity to evaluate their own pay practices, ensure they are in compliance, and understand that instructing employees to lie to the U.S. Department of Labor will not be tolerated."

The Department of Labor offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, electronic toolkits, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

WHD provides employers with compliance assistance resources related to the H-1B visa program. For more information about this visa program other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has issued three new opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the individual person or entity that requested the letter.

The opinion letters issued today are:

• FMLA2019-3-A: Addressing whether an employer may delay designating paid leave as FMLA leave due to a collective bargaining agreement;
• FLSA2019-13: Addressing the ordinary meaning of the phrase "not less than one month" for purposes of FLSA section 7(i)'s representative period requirement; and
• CCPA2019-1: Addressing whether employers' contributions to employees' health savings accounts are earnings under the CCPA.

The Department offers a search function allowing users to search existing opinion letters by keyword, year, topic, and a variety of other filters; and encourages the public to submit requests for opinion letters to WHD to obtain an opinion or to determine whether existing guidance already addresses their questions. The Division exercises its discretion in determining whether and how it will respond to each request. 

This release marks the 47th, 48th, and 49th opinion letters issued by WHD during this Administration.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

PROVIDENCE, RI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, three Rhode Island nursing care facilities have paid $192,622 in back wages and liquidated damages to 89 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The facilities also paid $68,796 in civil penalties, while their parent company has agreed to FLSA compliance at all its locations.

Centers for Care LLC - doing business as Centers Health Care, headquartered in the Bronx, New York - is the parent company for the three Rhode Island facilities:

• Park View Operations Associates LLC, doing business as Park View Center for Rehabilitation & HealthCare, in Providence;
• Bannister Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare LLC, doing business as Bannister Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare, in Providence; and
• Shady Acres Operations Associates LLC, doing business as Kingston Center for Rehabilitation, in West Kingston.

WHD's investigation found that the Centers Health Care facilities violated the FLSA by only paying employees for scheduled hours. Work performed before and after scheduled shifts went unpaid. Investigators also determined that the employers failed to total weekly hours for employees who worked at both the Park View and Bannister centers during the same workweeks. This practice resulted in overtime violations when total hours exceeded 40, but the employers failed to pay overtime, instead paying for hours worked at each location separately, at straight time rates. Additional violations resulted when the employers failed to include shift differentials in employees' regular rates of pay when computing overtime, and accordingly paid for overtime hours at rates lower than those required by law.

The employers also failed to record and pay employees for all the hours that they worked due to erroneous time rounding practices. The Rhode Island nursing care facilities also failed to post the FLSA poster, as required.

The investigation resulted in an enterprise-wide settlement agreement, under which Centers for Care, owner and operator of some 50 nursing care facilities nationwide, agreed to compliance with the FLSA at all its locations.

"The Wage and Hour Division will conduct investigations and rigorously address violations to ensure employees are paid what they have earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field," said Wage and Hour Division District Director David Gerrain in Hartford, Connecticut. "We encourage all employers to make use of the many tools we provide to explain their responsibilities so that costly violations like those found in this investigation can be avoided."

WHD's Hartford District Office conducted the investigation. The Department's Regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston negotiated the settlement for WHD.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Employers can find compliance assistance resources related to WHD issues at https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/ca_main.htm. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD enforces Federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to Federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

PICAYUNE, MS – Maxem Health Urgent Care will pay $147,622 in wages to 16 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the operator of two Mississippi health care facilities violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined the employer – which operates Picayune Urgent Care Clinic LLC in Picayune, and Petal Urgent Care LLC in Petal – incorrectly classified nurse practitioners as independent contractors instead of employees and subsequently paid them at straight-time rates for all hours they worked, including when they worked more than 40 hours per week and were legally due overtime.

The employer also failed to combine the hours individual employees worked at both locations during the same workweek when determining when overtime was due. Maxem Health Urgent Care also deducted time from employees’ timecards for meal breaks even when they worked through those breaks. Those timekeeping practices led to overtime violations when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but the employer failed to pay overtime. Additionally, the employer failed to maintain accurate time and payroll records, as required by the FLSA.

“Employers are required to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned for all the hours that they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall, in Jackson, Mississippi. “The Jackson Wage and Hour Division office is available to assist any employers in understanding their obligations. Violations like those found in this case can be avoided.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the WHD, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.