CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, MANUFACTURER PAYS $13,133 IN BACK WAGES TO WORKERS AFTER U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INVESTIGATION UNCOVERS OVERTIME VIOLATIONS
After an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Clearwater Cylinder Head, Inc. was ordered to pay $13,133 in back wages for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). Twenty employees of the cylinder manufacturer based in Clearwater, Florida, will receive $656.65 as compensation for overtime that was not previously paid out.
The WHD's investigation found that employees had worked beyond the 40-hour workweek established in the FLSA. Nicolas Ratmiroff, the Division District Director of the WHD in Tampa put other companies that may be in similar situations on notice by stating "Employers must ensure they pay their workers the wages they have rightfully earned… this includes time spent preparing for the day or activities needing completion at day's end."
When an investigation is warranted by the WHD, the employer will initially be contacted to give general information regarding the company including size, type of business, federal tax information, and the number of employees. The WHD will proceed to examine payroll records, conduct employee interviews, and inspect the job site. At the end of the investigation, the WHD will inform the employer of any violations found, how to eliminate future violations, and officially request payment of back wages the investigation found.
The WHD was established by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1966, codified in 29 U.S. Code § 204. It is under the direction of a presidentially appointed administrator and works within the U.S. Department of Labor. The WHD is responsible for enforcing "federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act."
The FLSA states that unless an employee is exempt, any time worked over 40 hours in a workweek must be paid at least time and one-half of an employee's regular rate of pay. The Act was signed into law in 1966 after Congress found that in the common U.S. workplace there were "labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers." Congress further elaborated that these detrimental labor conditions not only impact the health of the worker but also cause disruptions and burdens in domestic and international commerce.
The FLSA makes an important distinction in its legislation of those who are covered by the Act and those who are not. Certain enterprises with workers "engaged in interstate commerce, producing goods for interstate commerce, or handling, selling or otherwise working on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced by such commerce by a person" are covered by the FLSA. Those working for the Clearwater Cylinder Head Inc., qualified as covered employees since they manufactured the products sold by the company.
While there are exceptions to who is covered under the FLSA, for those who are covered, the Act does not limit the hours an employee can work in a day or a week, nor does it limit the number of overtime hours an employee performs. However, it does enforce that any time worked over 40 hours in one workweek earns one and one-half of an employee's regular pay.
A workweek accounts for 168 hours within seven straight days and can begin on any day of the week. Employees covered by the act must be paid for all hours within this workweek that they perform their duties. Hours worked includes the time an employee "must be on duty, or the employer's premises or at any other prescribed place of work," measured from the first task to the last of a single workday.
While the U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia has received criticism for acting in favor of big companies at the expense of workers, the WHD has continued to enforce the FLSA and award workers earned backpay. The current Administrator of the WHD, also appointed by President Trump, is Cheryl Marie Stanton. She was confirmed to her position on April 29, 2019, just months before Secretary Scalia.
In the first half of December 2020, there have been three other cases that the WHD has brought under investigation for overtime violations alone. These have included back pay for 89 electrical workers totaling $175,851, a South Carolina tire retailer repaying $33,397 to its employees, and a Tampa, Florida, restaurant to pay back $70,851 in overtime pay to its employees.
According to the Wage and Hour Division's published statistics, in Fiscal Year 2019 the WHD had 11,018 open cases for potential overtime violations. The backpay charged to employers for overtime violations accounted for 83% of the year's backpay paid out to over 300,000 workers.
