Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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TALCO, Texas -- Reliable Well Services Inc., headquartered in Laguna Hills, Calif., paid $96,323 in back minimum and overtime wages to 43 hourly laborers and salaried management employees at a Talco, Texas, drilling site after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that they had not been paid any wages for four weeks in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Workers are entitled to be paid their full wages for all hours worked,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Southwest. “In this case, we are pleased that these 43 employees were able to receive their hard earned wages.”

Reliable Well Services is a drilling and well services company in east Texas. The investigation was conducted by the Wage and Hour Division’s Dallas District Office. The employer cooperated with the investigation and has paid the back wages in full.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $5.85 an hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week, unless otherwise exempt. The minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008, and to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. 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 2001.

For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Dallas at (505) 245-2142. 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.