labor lawAdivision of labor law center

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao wants to send a clear message to employers that violations of labor rights will not be tolerated. “To protect workers engaged in hurricane recovery and rebuilding, last year the department deployed additional investigators to the Gulf Coast region to better ensure that employers fully comply with wage and hour laws,” said US Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

Secretary Chao adds, “This legal action is among our many efforts on behalf of these workers who are doing vital work for the Gulf Coast region’s recovery and who deserve and are entitled to receive all the wages they have earned.”

A recent suit filed by the U.S. Labor Department confirms Secretary Chao’s caution against employers who violate labor rights. The suit, to recover over $500,000 in back wages for employees working on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, alleges that the employer committed violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) filed the suit against a Houston drywall firm for violating the labor rights of employees. Specifically, the employer misclassified employees as independent contractors, in order to avoid overtime payments mandated under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA).

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division following an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Back wages are expected to exceed $500,000 for more than 500 construction workers. Also named in the department’s lawsuit are the president of the company and a company vice president.

The drywall company performed on contracts for reconstruction along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The WHD investigation of the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino contract in Biloxi, Miss. and other worksites, found that the company owner regularly misclassified employees as independent contractors and failed to pay them the additional half time overtime premium for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The company also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages and hours of work.

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