Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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HOUSTON -- Magna Flow International Inc. and Magna Flow Environmental Services Inc. in Houston have paid a total of $174,999 in back wages to 99 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that the companies, which have the same owner, had violated the minimum and overtime wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Magna Flow Environmental Services also was fined $2,145 for violating the youth employment provisions of the FLSA.

“These employees perform back-breaking work cleaning up at new construction home sites and laying sod,” said Cynthia Watson, the department’s Wage and Hour Division regional administrator in the Southwest. “Each employee should be properly compensated for his or her work.”

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division’s Houston District Office determined that Magna Flow International Inc. failed to appropriately pay 18 employees $103,708 in overtime back wages, and Magna Flow Environmental Services failed to appropriately pay 81 employees $71,291 in minimum and overtime back wages.

Additionally, Magna Flow Environmental Services violated the youth employment provisions of the FLSA by hiring a 15-year-old to drive a bobcat tractor prior to 7 a.m. Employees under age 16 may work only outside school hours – up to three hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, eight hours on a non-school day and 40 hours in a non-school week. They are also limited to working between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day when the evening hours are extended to 9 p.m. Employees under the age of 18 may not work in any occupation deemed hazardous by the secretary of labor, including driving a motor vehicle and using power-driven machinery or a hoisting apparatus.

The back wages have been paid in full and the companies’ owner has agreed to continued compliance with the law.

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 rates of pay, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay for hours worked more than 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. Back wage collections last year represent a 30 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For information about the FLSA, call the U.S. Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or contact 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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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.