Florida-based restoration and remediation organisation ServPro has been ordered to pay $201,508 (£156,180) in back wages to 141 employees, after an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) discovered it was violating federal law.
The investigation found that the organisation was violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by paying employees straight-time rates for all hours worked in cash without taking into account any overtime when staff had worked more than 40 hours per week.
ServPro was also in violation for failing to maintain accurate payroll records and did not visibly display any FLSA posters, another FLSA requirement.
In conjunction with this, the employer automatically deducted time from some employees’ timecards for meal breaks, even when they had allegedly not taken a break.
Tony Pham, district director in Miami, Florida at the WHD, said: “Employers are required to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned for all the hours that they work.
“Our work continues to ensure that employees are paid as the law requires, and that employers compete on a level playing field. We encourage all employers to review their pay practices and their legal obligations and to contact the [WHD] for compliance assistance.”