Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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FT. COLLINS -- Center Partners Inc., Ft. Collins, Colo., has agreed to pay $229,905 in overtime back wages to 1,390 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The customer service outsourcing corporation operates call centers in Ft. Collins, and in Idaho Falls, Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, Idaho, providing installation support, new customer welcome calls, product inquiry, repair and help desk services to numerous Fortune 500 companies.

“This investigation reflects the Labor Department’s commitment to ensure that workers receive the full wages they have earned,” said Alex Salaiz, Wage and Hour Division district director in Denver. “Employers must make sure they properly calculate their employees’ regular rates of pay, or else overtime premiums cannot be computed accurately.”

Center Partners Inc violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to include preliminary shift work as hours worked. Additionally, the firm did not include commissions, shift differential pay, flex time earnings and various production based bonuses in the regular rate of pay when computing overtime.

The corporation agreed to future compliance and payment of all back wages.

Enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, the FLSA requires that employers pay covered workers at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 in a single workweek. Employers also must maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or contact the Denver District Office at (720) 264-3250. Information is also available on the Internet at www.dol.gov/esa/whd.

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