Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Transcontinental Security Services Inc., of San Juan and the company’s president have agreed to pay $116,428 in back wages and interest to 31 employees to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

According to David Heffelfinger, district director for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Guaynabo, P.R., an investigation by his office found Transcontinental employees working as security guards did not receive the proper overtime wages for all the hours over 40 they worked in typical work weeks, and that the employer was not maintaining proper records of employees’ hours of work and rates of pay. Also named in the Labor Department’s lawsuit was company president Carlos Garcia-De La Noceda.

“This court action,” said Heffelfinger, “demonstrates that the Labor Department is very serious about enforcing the FLSA and ensuring that employees are always properly paid for all of the hours they work, especially when it comes to workers in low-wage industries.”

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage and one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week unless otherwise exempt. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

A consent judgment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. It prohibits the defendants from future violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA. The court order, signed by Judge Jay A.Garcia-Gregory on June 12, also prohibits the defendants from taking retaliatory action against any employee who exercises their rights under the law and orders them to pay a total of $113,690 in back wages and $2,737 in interest. The payments cover the period between Nov. 16, 2003 and Nov. 15, 2005.

The court will appoint a receiver to collect the back wages, if the defendants fail to make any of the payments. The receiver would have the power to seize and liquidate the defendants’ assets to satisfy the back wage payments. The defendants also must advise their employees, in English and Spanish, of their rights under the FLSA, the terms of the judgment, and their rights to engage in protected activities under the FLSA without fear of retaliation. Official posters must be posted where all employees may view them. The defendants agreed to the entry of the consent judgment without admitting or denying any violations of the FLSA.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division Caribbean district office investigated this case, and the lawsuit was filed by the department’s regional solicitor in New York City. For more information about the requirements of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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