U.S. District Court Orders Little Rock Tire Shop to Pay $76,648 in Back Wages and Damages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation
LITTLE ROCK, AR – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas has ordered Macuil's Tire And Service Center LLC and owner Sergio Macuil to pay $76,648 in back wages and liquidated damages to 12 employees for willful violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer was also assessed a $14,160 civil penalty.
The action follows the company's failure to respond to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor after its Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigated the company's pay practices. In its order, the court also found the company violated the FLSA's recordkeeping provisions, and granted a permanent injunction prohibiting future violations of the FLSA.
WHD investigators determined that the company and Macuil willfully failed to pay overtime to 12 technicians at its four Little Rock locations. When employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, the company failed to pay overtime and instead compensated them at their regular rates of pay. The company also failed to keep required records of hours worked and weekly earnings.
"All employees are entitled to receive the wages they have earned," said Little Rock Wage and Hour Division District Director Hanz Grünauer. "The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to stopping willful violations of the FLSA and to providing employers the tools they need to comply with the law."
The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.
Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.