Mike’s Refinishing Corporation, Mike’s Decorating and Painting Inc. of Frankfort, Illinois, to pay nearly $127K in overtime back wages, damages to 52 workers

Mike’s Refinishing Corporation, Mike’s Decorating and Painting Inc. of Frankfort, Illinois,  to pay nearly $127K in overtime back wages, damages to 52 workers

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment
Name of Defendants: Mike’s Refinishing Corporation
Mike’s Decorating and Painting Inc.
Michael Nastepniak
Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that the two companies and Michael Nastepniak, owner of Mike’s Decorating & Painting Inc. and supervisor of Mike’s Refinishing Corporation, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay workers legally required overtime. Investigators found the companies paid straight time for all hours worked, and failed to maintain accurate time records.
Quote: “Denying these workers the wages they rightfully earned harms the employees and their families, and makes it harder for law-abiding employers to compete,” said Thomas Gauza, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in Chicago. “This judgment demonstrates that the Wage and Hour Division will use every enforcement tool at our disposal to ensure a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, especially for vulnerable employees who may not be aware of their rights under the law.”
Resolution: Defendants have agreed to pay a total of $126,923, which represents $63,461 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 52 current and former workers.
The consent judgment also requires the employer to:

• Provide each employee on each pay date with a pay stub, showing the specific dates of the pay period, total hours worked and paid, rate of pay, overtime hours paid, overtime rate of pay, gross amounts paid, and all deductions taken by defendants.
• Provide every current and future employee with the following Wage and Hour Division fact sheets:
  • Record-Keeping Requirements under the FLSA
  • Hours Worked under the FLSA.
  • FLSA Overtime Pay Requirements.
• Provide annual training on the FSLA to all supervisors and non-supervisory employees.
• Cease paying non-exempt employees in cash.
• Implement a centralized payroll system.
• Require non-exempt employees to keep weekly records of hours worked and ensure those records accurately record daily start and stop times and total hours worked.
• Maintain and preserve accurate records of employee wages paid and hours worked.

Background: The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are – as a general rule – liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees. Additionally, the law requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.
Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Docket Number: 1:15-cv-06722

WHD News Brief: 

07/07/2016

Media Contact Name: 

Scott Allen

Email: 

allen.scott@dol.gov

Phone Number: 

(312) 353-4727

Media Contact Name: 

Rhonda Burke

Email: 

burke.rhonda@dol.gov

Phone Number: 

(312) 353-4807

Release Number: 

16-1423-CHI