According to a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), its Wage and Hour Division recently recovered $119,000 in unpaid wages, damages, and penalties for 43 workers at a Hawaii construction company. After an investigation, the DOL found that H.K. Construction, a residential construction company on Oahu, recklessly disregarded the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The company also underpaid dozens of employees their legally earned wages. As a result of the DOL suit, H.K. Construction will pay $59,679 in unpaid overtime and unrecorded hours for forty-three employees, $59,679 in liquidated damages for forty-three employees, and $14,526 in civil penalties for reckless violations of FLSA.
H.K. Construction avoided paying overtime wages by saving hours employees worked over 40 hours in one week and then using the hours for another week in which the employees did not work 40 hours. They also failed to record hours and pay hours for office workers and wrongfully classified some workers as exempt from overtime pay. Finally, H.K. Construction attempted to substitute the cost of tools for the employee instead of paying the wages owed.
HBL has experience in all areas of benefits and employment law, offering a comprehensive solution to all your business benefits and HR/employment needs. We help ensure you are in compliance with the complex requirements of ERISA and the IRS code, as well as those laws that impact you and your employees. Together, we reduce your exposure to potential legal or financial penalties. Learn more by calling 470-571-1007.
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