Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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DENVER -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has reached a settlement with Hospital Shared Services Inc., a Denver employer that provides security guard services to area hospitals, recovering $200,000 in back wages for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

A Wage and Hour Division investigation covering a two-year period found the company in violation of the FLSA by requiring security guard employees to be at their work stations 10 minutes early but failing to compensate them for the time. The settlement made it unnecessary to file a planned lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver to recover unpaid overtime due approximately 1,240 employees.

“The Department of Labor is committed to enforcing the law and ensuring that employees receive the wages they are legally due,” said Alex Salaiz, director for the Wage and Hour Division’s Denver District Office.

The FLSA, enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, requires that covered workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $5.85 per hour for all hours worked. It also requires that workers be paid time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek, and that employers maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment. In general, “hours worked” includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer’s premises or at any other prescribed place of work, from the beginning of the first principal activity of the workday to the end of the last principal work activity of the workday.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 30,467 compliance actions and recovered a record $220 million in back wages for more than 341,000 employees in fiscal year 2007. Back-wage collections in fiscal year 2007 represent a 67 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 58 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (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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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.