Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Service Corporation International, Corpus Christi, paid $52,719 in overtime back wages to nine former and current inside sales workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Civil money penalties totaling $1,980 were also assessed for violations of the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“These workers were not paid fully for all the hours they worked and the company did not keep the required payroll records,” said Martin Barrow, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Houston. “Repeated violations of the FLSA will not be tolerated.”

The investigation by the Wage and Hour Houston district office, covering Jan. 1, 2003 to Dec. 31, 2004, found that Service Corporation International, doing business as Memory Gardens Funeral Home, failed to pay overtime to non-exempt covered employees who worked additional hours in the evening and after regularly scheduled hours.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay employees the minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

Service Corporation International employs about 20,000 workers nationwide and is headquartered in Houston. The company has agreed to future compliance and all back wages have been paid in full.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2003 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in fiscal 2004 from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about federal overtime laws, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Houston district office at (713) 339-5500. 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.