Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J. -- Criticare Inc., a firm that provides registered and practical nurses to hospitals in the New York/New Jersey area, has again violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Criticare paid $218,959 to 36 employees for overtime violations disclosed in a 2003 investigation conducted by the Mountainside Wage and Hour district office in Northern New Jersey. A follow-up investigation covering the period April 2004 through March 2005 revealed that the firm again failed to compensate employees properly for overtime.

The company agreed to pay $162,089 in back wages to 21 employees to resolve the most recent violations. A civil money penalty of $4,620 was also assessed because of the company’s history of prior violations.

“The company was made aware of the FLSA requirements during a previous investigation and agreed to comply with the law,” said Joseph Petrecca, district director of Mountainside’s office. “The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have earned. That is why our investigators followed up to ensure that this company was living up to its promise.”

“Criticare has paid all the back wages owed and agreed to future compliance with the FLSA,” Petrecca added.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. It also requires employers to keep accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment. The Mountainside area office is located at 200 Sheffield St., Suite 102, Mountainside, N.J. 07092-2314, telephone number (973) 645-2279. Information can also be obtained by calling the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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