U.S. Department of Labor issued the following announcement on Nov. 14.
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Morgan Roofing LLC – based in Galveston, Texas – has paid $101,832 in back wages to 28 employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements.
WHD investigators found the roofing contractor and sheet metal fabricator violated FLSA overtime requirements when it misclassified its employees as independent contractors and paid them flat rates per day, without regard to the number of hours they worked. This practice resulted in violations when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but were not paid overtime. WHD also determined the employer paid some hourly workers straight time for all they hours they worked, failing to pay them overtime for hours beyond 40 per workweek. The law requires employers to pay time-and-one-half an employee’s regular rate of pay for hours the employee works over 40 in a workweek. Morgan Roofing also violated FLSA recordkeeping provisions when it failed to keep required time and payroll records.
“This employer denied these employees the wages they rightfully and legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Robin Mallett in Houston, Texas. “Employers are responsible for paying employees for all the hours they work, and for tracking those hours accurately to determine when overtime is due. Simply labeling someone as an independent contractor does not absolve the employer of this responsibility. This investigation should remind all employers to examine their pay practices to ensure they comply with the law.”