Masonry Firm Caught Not Paying Overtime; Pays $70,000 in Back Wages
Metroplex Masonry Inc., a Kaufman, Texas-based firm that provides brick masonry work on a variety of structures, has paid $70,000 in overtime back wages to 189 current and former stone and brick masonry workers throughout the state after an investigation by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found the company in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"The employer was paying hourly workers straight time for all hours worked, including those beyond 40 in a workweek that entitled them to overtime pay," said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Southwest. "The employer also failed to keep accurate payroll records." According to DOL, overtime back wages now have been paid in full and the company has agreed to future FLSA compliance.
The FLSA requires that covered employees, unless otherwise exempt, be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. This law also requires that employers keep accurate time and payroll records.
The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. Back-wage collections in fiscal year 2006 represent a 30 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since fiscal 2001.
For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call DOL's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division’s Dallas District Office at 817-861-2150. Information is also available on the Web at www.wagehour.dol.gov.