labor lawAdivision of labor law center

ABC Professional Tree Services is one of the most recent companies to be found guilty of falling afoul of the federal and Louisiana minimum wage laws. After a Dept. of Labor investigation, the firm has been ordered to pay 2,501 employees a total of $1.8 million in overtime pay.

An unhappy employee alerted officials at the Dept. of Labor, that ABC Professional Trees Services was violating the minimum wage law. On investigation, the Dept. Of Labor found that ABC Professional Tree Services had violated the law in 16 states. After a two-year investigation that found that in addition, the company had violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA.

The US Dept. of Labor reported that ABC Professional Tree Services was ordered to pay back wages to employees in Louisiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Florida, North Caroline, Georgia, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maine, Ohio, New York, Virginia, and Maryland.
Some of the back wages will be paid to employees who worked in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
ABC Professional Tree Services is based in Houston and provides tree cutting and trimming services around power lines, as well as specializing in clearing up after natural disasters, including hurricanes.

US Secretary of Labor Elaine. L Chao said, “we are pleased that we were able to help these workers get the back pay they deserve.” She went on to say, “the department will continue our efforts to ensure that employers are paying workers properly.”

The US Dept. of Labor, created a task force, with cooperation from a number of states throughout the U.S., in 2006. They investigated violations of labor laws in the Gulf Coast. Some of these investigations led to prosecutions. The investigation was concentrated around areas affected by hurricanes.
The FLSA states that employees covered by the Act should be paid $5.15 per hour minimum. This applies to the first 40 hours an employee works per week. After this, the employee is entitled to time-and-one-half for every hour worked.

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