Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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PASADENA, Texas -- Rodeo Ranch Inc. in Pasadena, Texas, has agreed to pay $245,700 in back wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the company and its owner had failed to properly pay overtime wages to 111 current and former laborers.

The investigation, which covered the two-year period May 18, 2004 to May 18, 2006, determined that Rodeo Ranch violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not properly paying employees one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for the overtime hours they worked. In addition, the required time and payroll records were not maintained.

“All workers are entitled to the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Cynthia Watson, Wage and Hour southwest regional administrator. “We are pleased to have recovered more than $245,000 in back wages for these workers.”

A complaint was filed Oct. 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, against Rodeo Ranch Inc. and its owner and president, M. Don Lohman. On Oct. 6, a consent judgment was entered by the court ordering the defendants to pay back wages and enjoining them from further violations. This resulted from an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division office in Houston, which found that the company paid hourly employees straight time for all hours worked.

Rodeo Ranch Inc., doing business as America Concrete Service in Pasadena, is engaged in cleaning out concrete mixer trucks. The company has agreed to future compliance with the FLSA and has paid back wages in full.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rate of pay, including commissions, certain bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked more than 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

For information about federal overtime laws, call the U.S. Department of Labor’s toll-free help line (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Houston at (713) 339-5500. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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