Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. --

AKAL Security has agreed to pay $269,954 in back wages to 469 employees working at Fort Campbell, Ky., following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

“The department is committed to ensuring that employers with federal service contracts pay workers according to provisions of the government contract labor standards,” said James Karn, Wage and Hour’s Louisville district director.

AKAL Security, headquartered in Espanola, N.M., has a contract with the U.S. Army to provide security guards at Fort Campbell. The investigation, covering the period July 2004 to July 2006, was conducted under two laws administered by the agency – the Service Contract Act and the Contract Work Hours Safety Standards Act.

The investigation revealed that AKAL failed to compensate guards for the time required to pick up their weapons and report to assigned duty posts. Also, because the time was not recorded, overtime hours were not calculated correctly.

Under the Service Contract Act, contractors with federal service contracts over $2,500 must pay their service workers no less than the wages and fringe benefits prevailing in the locality. The Labor Department issues wage determinations that provide the required wage rate and fringe benefits for each service occupation. These determinations are incorporated into covered federal contracts.

The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act requires that laborers and mechanics employed on certain federally-funded contracts be paid one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Employers must also maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

For further information about the federal contract labor laws and other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the department’s toll-free help line at 1 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243), visit the Wage and Hour Division Web site at www.wagehour.dol.gov, or contact the Louisville district office, 601 W. Broadway, Room 31; phone: (502) 582-5226.

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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.