Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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DALLAS -- The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that Howse Brothers Sanitation Services Inc. in Dallas, Texas, has agreed to pay 78 present and former sales representatives and delivery employees $127,555 in back wages due as a result of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that workers are paid their full wages, including any overtime wages earned,” said Cynthia Watson, Wage and Hour regional administrator in Dallas. “Howse Brothers deducted 30 minutes for lunch breaks for delivery employees even though they worked through their lunch break period. As a result of the deduction, employees were not compensated for overtime hours they worked.”

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation covered the period August 2003 to August 2005. In addition to failing to pay delivery workers their total compensation for overtime, the company did not compensate inside sales employees for commissions based on the rental of portable restrooms.

Howse Brothers, doing business as United Site Services, provides portable restrooms for construction sites and special events. The company, headquartered in Westboro, Mass., has agreed to pay back wages in full and comply with the FLSA in the future.

The FLSA requires employers to pay employees the 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.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Wage and Hour Dallas district office at (817) 861-2150 or metro number (817) 261-4371, or the Department of Labor’s toll-free line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available at www.wagehour.dol.gov. Information on the exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees can be found at www.dol.gov/fairpay.

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.