Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The U. S. Department of Labor has reached an agreement with a Guam construction company and its general manager to pay $1.5 million in back wages to settle charges that the company violated the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

An investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division revealed that the company failed to pay employees overtime rates of at least one and half times their regular pay rates for hours over forty worked in a work week.

“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers are paid correctly for all the hours they work,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “Through the department’s determined efforts, more than $212 million in back wages were recovered for workers last year.”

Under the terms of the judgment, two defendants, Sun and Moon Construction, Inc. and general manager, Chang Sheng Wang, agreed to pay overtime back wages for the period beginning January 1, 1997 to March 31, 1999 to 121 former employees from the Peoples Republic of China.

In addition to paying back wages, the consent judgment requires future compliance with the FLSA and payment of a $120,000 civil money penalty for violating the overtime laws. District Judge Ronald Lew, U.S. District Court of Guam, signed a consent judgment resolving the lawsuit against defendants Sun and Moon Construction and Chang Sheng Wang on September 3, 2004.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2003, a 21 percent increase over the record setting amount of FY 2002. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2003 from 129 days to 108 days. WHD assessed employers nearly $10 million in civil money penalties in FY 2003.

For more information on federal pay laws, call the Department’s toll-free help lines at 866-4USWAGE (866-487-9243) or contact the Guam office at 671-473-9178. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

Chao v. Ningbo Construction and Industrial Group, et al; Civil Case number 00-00030

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