Jan 27, 2022 | Overtime & Wages
Federal Investigation Recovers $221K In Back Wages, Damages For 59 Workers // Federal Court Orders Shuttle Service To Pay $742K In Wages, Damages To 368 Employees After Department of Labor Investigation & Litigation
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it recovered $221,053 in back wages and liquidated damages for 59 drywall installation workers in Idaho, after their employer denied them earned overtime wages.
The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) found the employer intentionally underpaid its workers by denying them their rightfully overtime wages earned, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The employer, according to the DOL, repeatedly told investigators that the company paid employees overtime wages at time-and-one-half their rates of pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week, as the law requires. Investigators, however, determined the employer’s claims were untrue and that the employer had not paid workers overtime as claimed.
In another matter, the DOL announced that a federal court entered a consent judgment ordering a Brooklyn, New York bus and shuttle service to pay $742,500 in back wages and liquidated damages for overtime wages denied to 368 shuttle drivers, following an investigation and litigation by the DOL.
The WHD investigation determined that the employer failed to pay overtime wages to employees who picked up and dropped off passengers for the company’s clients. The WHD found the drivers were paid flat rates ranging from approximately $100 to $190 per day without regard to the number of hours they worked in a day or in a workweek. Employees typically worked 45 to 60 hours per workweek, and the FLSA requires employers to pay overtime when employees work more than 40 hours in a workweek. The WHD found the company improperly assumed its employees were not entitled to overtime under the FLSA, and investigators also found that the employer failed to keep adequate and accurate records as required by law.
Private Litigation, Minimum Wage & Overtime Under The FLSA
Employees have the right to file a private lawsuit to recover back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs. In such a case, the Department of Labor will not seek the same back wages and liquidated damages on that employee’s behalf.
Workers are reminded that the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour (effective July 24, 2009). Many states also have minimum wage laws, and in cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher minimum wage.
Nonexempt employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per workweek (any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours – seven consecutive 24-hour periods), at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.
Additionally, hours worked ordinarily include all the time during which an employee is required to be on an employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace; employers must display an official poster outlining the requirements of the FLSA; and employers must also keep employee time and pay records.
EMPLOYEES WHO BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN HARMED BY EMPLOYER WAGE AND HOUR VIOLATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT KEHOE LAW FIRM, P.C. BY COMPLETING THE FORM ABOVE ON THE RIGHT OR VIA [email protected] FOR A FREE, NO-OBLIGATION EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL LEGAL CLAIMS.
Jan 27, 2022 | Blog, Consumer Protection
Surge In Consumer Reports About Money Lost Via Scams Initiated Through Social Media
On January 27, 2022, the FTC reported that consumers in 2021 reported losing about $770 million to fraud initiated on social media—about one fourth of all reported fraud losses for the year and an 18-fold increase from 2017, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest Consumer Protection Data Spotlight.
Of those who reported losing money to fraud in 2021, more than 95,000 indicated that they were first contacted on social media, which was more than twice the 2020 number.
Investment scams topped the list of total reported dollar losses, followed by romance scams. The largest number of reports came from people who lost money to online shopping scams. Most of the reports about online shopping scams involved someone who ordered a product they saw marketed on social media that never arrived. Consumers who listed the social media platform where the undelivered products were marketed most often named Facebook or Instagram.
For additional information, please click the FTC’s “Social media a gold mine for scammers in 2021.”
Additional guidance about spotting, avoiding, and reporting scams, and how to recover money if you have paid a scammer, can be viewed at ftc.gov/scams.
Source: FTC.gov
Have you been financially harmed by scams, fraud, deception or other illegal activity?
If so, please contact Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. for a free, no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims by completing the form above on the right or via [email protected].
Jan 27, 2022 | Overtime & Wages
Federal Overtime Rule (Effective January 1, 2020)
An employee is entitled to at least minimum wage and overtime pay at time and a half for all hours worked over 40 hours per week. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), however, does not require overtime pay for “any employee engaged in a bona-fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity” who is paid on a salaried basis instead of an hourly wage and meets the minimum salary threshold defined in federal regulations. (29 U.S.C. § 213a(1).
The United States Department of Labor published revised final regulations concerning its overtime requirements under the FLSA on September 24, 2019. (29 CFR 541).
The revised federal regulations included:
- raising the “standard salary level” from $455 to $684 per week (equivalent to $35,568 per year for a full-year worker); and
- allowing employers to use non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments (including commissions) that are paid at least annually to satisfy up to 10 percent of the standard salary level.
What Is Overtime?
Unless employed in an occupation specifically exempted by the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act or FLSA, employees must receive pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek, at a rate not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay. This rate is referred to as “overtime” pay.
Who Qualifies For Overtime Pay?
With few exceptions, hourly employees who work more than 40 hours a week must be paid time and a half for all hours over 40.
Most salaried employees who work more than 40 hours per week and earn less than the federal salary threshold are eligible for overtime regardless of their job duties.
Most salaried employees who do NOT perform executive, administrative, or professional duties are eligible for overtime regardless of how much they are paid.
Salaried employees who perform executive, administrative, or professional duties and make more than the salary threshold per year are NOT eligible for overtime.
What Is The “Regular Rate” Of Pay?
Generally, an employee’s regular rate is the amount that the employee is regularly paid for each hour of work. The regular rate of pay cannot be less than the Pennsylvania minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
When an employee is paid on a non-hourly basis (e.g., piece work, salary), the regular hourly wage rate is determined by dividing the total hours worked during the week into the employee’s total earnings. For example, an employee who has piece rate earnings of $500 in a workweek for 40 hours work has a regular rate of $12.50 per hour. $500.00 total wages ÷ 40 Hours = $12.50 Per Hour Regular Rate.
Can Bonuses Be Used To Satisfy Part Of The New Standard Salary Level Test?
Yes. Federal regulations allow up to 10 percent of the salary threshold that can be satisfied by non-discretionary bonuses, incentives, and commissions paid on an annual basis.
Can An Employee Be Required To Work Overtime?
Yes. Employers can dictate the time of day and hours an employee works.
Can An Employee Be Required To Waive Their Right To Receive Overtime?
No. An announcement by an employer that overtime work will not be permitted, or that only overtime work authorized in advance will be paid, does not cancel the employer’s obligation to pay overtime to workers for hours worked beyond 40 hours per week.
Can An Employer Refuse To Pay An Employee For Overtime For Hours That Have They Have Worked?
No. An employer cannot refuse to pay an employee for overtime, unless the employee qualifies for an exception from overtime under Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Act or the FLSA.
Source: PA Department of Labor & Industry/Overtime Rules In Pennsylvania
EMPLOYEES IN PENNSYLVANIA WHO BELIEVE THEY HAVE BEEN MISCLASSIFIED AS EXEMPT FROM OVERTIME PAY, OR OTHERWISE FINANCIALLY HARMED BY EMPLOYER WAGE AND HOUR VIOLATIONS, ARE ENCOURAGED TO CONTACT KEHOE LAW FIRM, P.C., MICHAEL YARNOFF, ESQ., (215) 792-6676, EXT. 804, [email protected], [email protected], FOR A FREE, NO-OBLIGATION EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL LEGAL CLAIMS.
