labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A Florida tree-trimming company must pay back wages to more than 2,500 of its workers in 16 states after it was found violating the federal and Florida minimum wage laws. The Labor Department investigation means the firm owes those employees $1.8 million dollars.

The company, which provides cleanup work around power lines and in areas hit by natural disasters, owes some of that money to employees who worked to clean up after Hurricane Katrina.  ABC Professional Tree Services of Houston violated the minimum wage law and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) during the two-year period of the investigation, from August 2004 to August 2006, according to the Labor Department.

According to the FLSA, any covered employees must be paid at least $5.15 per hour, the minimum wage, for the first 40 hours of any work week. After that, employees must receive time-and-a-half for overtime. Accurate payroll record keeping is also required.

The company is paying back wages to its Florida employees as well as to employees from Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Maine, New York, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao said the Labor Department is pleased that “we were able to help these workers get the back pay they deserve.” She said the department would continue monitoring to make sure employers are paying the legal amounts to employees.

The investigation started when a dissatisfied worker tipped the Department of Labor about the violation. Labor Department officials found that the company was in violation in 16 states.

U.S. Attorneys in several states have teamed up with the Labor Department on a task force that both investigates and prosecutes labor law violations in the Gulf Coast region, particularly regions affected by hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.

The firm in this instance agreed to pay $1,801,507 in back wages.

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