Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BOSTON -- Synergy Capital Group Inc., Taunton, Mass., and company owner Dana Chiles have agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The defendants will pay a total of $47,416 in back wages, liquidated damages and civil money penalties as part of the settlement.

"Without admitting liability, the defendants have agreed to entry of a consent judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordering them to pay 20 employees $30,347.49 in overtime back wages and $6,069.51 in liquidated damages. They have also agreed to consent findings in a related administrative complaint requiring them to pay the Labor Department $11,000 in civil money penalties. The administrative complaint alleged repeated willful violations of the overtime provisions of the FLSA.

In explaining the reason for the lawsuit, Corey Surett, district director of the department’s Boston Wage and Hour Division office, said: “This employer was previously investigated and found in violation of the FLSA. Although the employer promised future compliance at that time, our most recent investigation determined that the company had continued to disregard the law.”

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

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that employees of the company were required by the employer to work many workweeks of more than 40 hours each without being compensated properly for the overtime hours worked. The investigation also found that the company did not keep proper records of the number of hours employees worked.

The consent judgment, signed March 29 by U.S. District Judge Reginald C. Lindsay, orders Synergy Capital Group and Dana Chiles to come into full compliance with the requirements of the FLSA and to pay their employees back wages and liquidated damages totaling $36,417 on or before May 2, 2005. The administrative consent findings require the defendants to pay the Labor Department the $11,000 civil money penalty by mid-April.

The Boston District Office of the Wage and Hour Division conducted this investigation and the department’s lawsuit was filed by the Regional Solicitor’s Office in Boston. For more information about the provisions of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), or contact the Boston office at (617) 624-6700. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

(Chao v Synergy Capital Group, Inc. and Dana Chiles; Civil Action Number 04-12661-RCL)

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