Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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HOUSTON, TX -- The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against Juan’s Tractor Services Inc., in Keller, Texas, to recover $142,347 in back wages due 97 former and current workers engaged in cleaning and leveling land at construction sites.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division’s Dallas district office, covering the two-year period of Aug. 12, 2002 to Aug. 11, 2004, determined that Juan Salas doing business as Juan’s Tractor Service Inc., failed to pay proper overtime wages as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

“This employer was not paying undocumented workers their overtime pay,” said Cynthia Watson, Wage and Hour regional administrator in Dallas. “If employees work overtime hours, they must be paid overtime compensation irrespective of their immigration status.”

The FLSA requires employees to be paid minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in fiscal year 2004 from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Wage and Hour Division’s Dallas office at (817) 861-2150 or 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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