As a result of a Department of Labor investigation a Las Vegas construction company urged to pay $550,000 in back wages and liquidated damages.
The company at the heart of the matter, Colvin Construction Inc., denied 614 employees proper wages and payment in a lengthy battle in Nevada’s legal system.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada was the stage for the judgment and the request that the employer pay the outstanding monies and damages to disgruntled employees.
“This judgment reflects our commitment to do everything we are able to protect the rights of workers to receive their full earnings in the Nevada construction industry,” explained Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “Thanks to the results of this case, hundreds of piece rate construction workers will receive their back wages and an equal amount in damages for what they had to endure.
Las Vegas construction company must pay to resolve court judgement
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor investigated the case and found Colvin Construction had attempted to avoid paying overtime by failing to combine all hours worked by employees.
The report stated that “while workers often averaged 55 hours per week, investigators found the employer failed to pay workers the required overtime rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
The construction company will also pay $10,000 in penalties for knowingly entering certain violations, and the ruling permanently forbids the employer from engaging in future FLSA violations.
Colvin Construction must also accurately record all hours employees work, their pay rates for each hour, their total straight-time weekly earnings, and premium pay for overtime hours.
The company must also Implement a timekeeping system that permits employees, rather than supervisors, to track their individual work hours daily.
Wage and Hour Division District Director Gene Ramos said, ““Employers can’t dodge paying overtime by willfully ignoring the number of hours their employees work. The results of our investigation brought this employer into compliance, leveled the playing field and recovered workers’ wages.”
Image: Pexels.
