U.S. Labor Department orders Hampstead contractor to pay $87k in back wages
$19,000 fine also imposed for failing to pay required overtime
A Hampstead contractor has been ordered to pay $87,360 in back wages owed to 28 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.
The department said Facades Inc., a commercial exterior surfaces applicator-installer, falsified pay records to “mask its failure to pay workers the required overtime wages they earned,” in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Besides the $87,260 in recovered wages, Facades must pay a penalty of $19,516 for the willful nature of the violations, the department said.
According to the department, Facades violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying straight time for overtime hours worked by employees and concealed those payments as “reimbursements” in payroll registers. The company did not pay the required time-and-one-half workers’ regular rates of pay, instead it masked their straight time payment for additional hours, according to the news release.
“Other employers should use the outcome of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to avoid violations like those found in this case,” said Wage and Hour District Director Daniel Cronin.
