The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records. The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees.
The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court ordering Bowlin Group LLC and Bowlin Services LLC to pay 196 employees a total of $1,075,000 in back wages and liquidated damages.
The judgment resolves a Labor Department investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour Division which found that the defendants misclassified 77 employees as independent contractors and violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by denying those workers and others overtime compensation, and failing to maintain accurate payroll records…
The misclassification of employees as independent contractors cheats workers of wages and benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled to under the law, subsequently hurting our economy. It also leads to unfair competition because businesses that play by the rules operate at a disadvantage to those that don’t…
The agency’s investigation found that all nonexempt employees, regardless of their classification by the employer as either an employee or independent contractor, were paid based upon the pieces of equipment they installed rather than at an hourly rate. They were thereby denied overtime compensation, which should have been time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Additionally, the employer failed to keep accurate records of the number of hours worked by each installer as well as employees performing fiber optic splicing, and falsified payroll records to minimize the numbers of hours worked.
…Misclassified employees often are denied access to critical benefits and protections to which they are entitled, such as minimum wage and overtime, family and medical leave, and unemployment insurance. Misclassification of workers may also generate losses to the U.S. Treasury, and Social Security and Medicare funds, and to state unemployment insurance and worker compensation funds…
The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records.
The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees.Lebau & Neuworth attorneys most recently have successfully represented more than 250 employees in four different states whom were misclassified as independent contractors by a large plumbing company. The employees, in addition to receiving owed overtime wages, also received double damages and had their attorney fees paid by the employer. Contact us if you think you are owed wages from an employer; we can help.
