Federal Court Orders New Jersey Company & Executives To Pay Over $700K To Workers Denied Overtime
A federal court in New Jersey ordered an electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning company based in Union, NJ and its two co-managers, to pay 89 electricians, electrician helpers and HVAC technicians after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the defendants deliberately denied overtime.
In a consent judgment a federal court ordered FTR Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Inc. – operating as FTR Electrical & HVAC Services – the company’s part-owner, President Antonio Goncalves, and company Vice President Francisco Carmo to pay $711,694 in back wages and liquidated damages to the affected workers. The court also ordered the employer and its co-managers to pay $16,450 in civil money penalties and interest to the Department of Labor for their willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court’s action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into the employer’s pay practices and litigation by the Office of the Solicitor. The Wage and Hour Division found that the defendants willfully violated the FLSA when they did the following:
- Paid employees straight-time for hours worked over 40 per week.
- Required employees to work off the clock and did not pay them for all hours worked.
- Required employees to clock in when they started work each workday, but directed them not to clock out when they finished working at the end of each workday.
- Paid employees for a maximum of eight hours each workday, regardless of how many hours employees actually worked each day.
- Failed to pay additional wages to employees who regularly worked more than eight hours each workday, resulting in workweeks longer than forty hours.
- Failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ hours worked and total wages paid.
Victims Of Employer Wage And Hour Violations
Employees who have been harmed by wage and hour violations have the right, under the FLSA, to file a private lawsuit to recover back wages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.
If you believe you were not paid proper wages or overtime, misclassified as exempt from overtime or harmed by other employer wage and hour violations, please complete the form above on the right or email [email protected] to request a free, confidential consultation and no-obligation evaluation of potential legal claims.
