Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Morella Cos., doing business as Shifa Community Mental Health Center, Serenity Center LLC and Hope Village in Baton Rouge, has agreed to pay $85,134 in back wages to 67 current and former technicians and therapists after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that employees did not receive overtime pay required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Employees are entitled to receive the wages they have rightfully earned,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Southwest. “Employees working additional hours on weekend shifts were paid straight time without overtime compensation. This practice is unacceptable.”

An investigation covering the period from Aug. 10, 2005, to Aug. 10, 2007, determined that Shifa Community Mental Health Center, Serenity Center and Hope Village did not pay employees correctly for overtime hours worked. The employer failed to compensate employees for working extra hours on weekend shifts. Additionally, wages for employees who were required to work at two separate facilities were not combined, and workers did not receive overtime wages for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

According to the terms of the settlement, back wages will be paid in full by December 1, and the company has agreed to future FLSA compliance.

The FLSA requires covered nonexempt employees to be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week, regardless of the location. 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 prevailing 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 Baton Rouge at (225) 757-7737. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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