Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BOSTON -- Weston Racquet Club Inc., Waltham, Mass., and owner, Richard Trant, will pay nearly $50,000 in back wages and civil money penalties to settle a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

According to Corey Surett, district director for the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division in Boston, an investigation by his office found that 31 employees of the health and exercise club, including maintenance personnel, cafeteria workers, tennis instructors and customer service personnel, were not paid proper overtime between April 2001 and Oct. 2, 2004.

Some workers were not paid the required time-and-a half for working more than 40 hours in a work week, while others were misclassified as exempt from overtime coverage. The FLSA requires that 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.

A judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts orders the defendants to pay 31 employees a total of $35,982 in overtime back wages and the Labor Department $13,897 in civil money penalties. The penalties were assessed because the club had previously violated FLSA overtime regulations.

“This employer agreed in the past to pay proper overtime but once again has not,” said Surett. “The additional penalties assessed in this case emphasize the Labor Department’s determination to ensure workers receive proper payment for their labors.”

The judgment also permanently enjoins the defendants from future violations of the FLSA’s overtime provisions and restrains them from withholding payment of the back wages and penalties.

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) or contact the Boston Wage and Hour office at 617-624-6700. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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