labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A recent suit filed by the U.S. Labor Department sends a clear message to employers that violations of the overtime law will not be tolerated. 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) recently sued a Houston drywall firm for violations to the overtime law contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA).

“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. “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.”

The employer is accused of violating the Fair Labor Law, including the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act are enforced by the US Dept. of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, WHD. Employers should realize that they could be fined up to $7,500 depending upon state, for not displaying the appropriate federal and state labor law posters, including information on the minimum wage.

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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