Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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AURORA, Colo. -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has announced that a couple from Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay their former nanny over $64,000 in back wages to settle a federal lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“The Department of Labor is committed to enforcing the law and ensuring that employees receive the wages they are owed,” said Dean A. Campbell, acting district director for the Wage and Hour’s Denver office.

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found that Homaidan Al-Turki and Sara Khonaizan failed to pay their live-in nanny the minimum wage for all hours worked during the period Nov. 18, 2002 through Nov. 18, 2004

The consent judgment, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, orders payment of $64,424.91 in back wages and permanently enjoins Al-Turki and Khonaizan, from future violations of the minimum wage and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA.

The FLSA requires that covered workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and one and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Employers must also maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 34,858 compliance actions and recovered more than $166 million in back wages for over 241,000 employees in fiscal year 2005. Back wage collections last year represent a 26 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 11 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Denver District Office at (303) 264-3250. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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