Baton Rouge general contractor W.D. Masonry LLC will pay 52 residential and commercial masonry workers $67,272 in back wages and liquidated damages. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that W.D. Masonry had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and record-keeping provisions.
“The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are, as a general rule, liable to employees for back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages,” said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “Employees of W.D. Masonry worked long hours without being paid proper overtime compensation. This practice is illegal and unacceptable and, as demonstrated by this case, we are using all enforcement tools available, including the assessment of liquidated damages, to recover employees’ rightful wages and ensure compliance with the law.”
Investigators from the division’s New Orleans District Office found that the employees were paid straight time rates for all hours worked, rather than time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, as required by the FLSA. The employer also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages and work hours, in violation of the FLSA’s record-keeping requirements.
Following the investigation, W.D. Masonry agreed to pay the affected workers $33,636 in back wages, plus an additional $33,636 in liquidated damages, to pay for the overtime violations. The company also agreed to maintain future compliance with the FLSA by ensuring employees are properly compensated for all hours worked and that their work hours and wages are accurately recorded in accordance with the law.
The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers also are required to maintain accurate time and payroll records.
For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the division’s New Orleans District Office at 504-589-6171. Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.
