Labor Department investigation finds Phoenix construction business failed to pay overtime wages; pays $85K in back wages, damages to 68 workers
Employer: Atwater Construction Company, Inc.
Sites: 22640 N. 21st Ave., Phoenix, Arizona
Investigation findings: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the Atwater Construction failed to pay employees one and one-half times their hourly rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provision. The investigation revealed that employees regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per work week but were not paid an overtime premium; rather, they were paid straight time for all hours. The employer also failed to maintain accurate time and payroll records in violation of the law.
Resolution: Atwater Construction has paid $42,889 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 68 employees. The company has also paid over $18,300 in civil penalties to the federal government for willful violations of the FLSA.
Quote: “Many of Atwater Construction’s workers were regularly putting in more than 50 hours a week without any overtime pay. That is unacceptable and illegal,” said Eric Murray, director of the Wage and Hour Division office in Phoenix. “Thanks to this investigation, these workers will receive the pay they rightfully earned and should have received in the first place.”
Information: For more information about federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.