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ESA News Release: [08/30/2006]
Contact Name: Diana Petterson or Elizabeth Todd
Phone Number: (214) 767-4776, x222 or 221
Release Number: 06-1492-DAL

U.S. Labor Department Sues Houston Drywall Firm to Recover over $500,000 in Back Wages for Employees Working on Mississippi Gulf Coast

HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sued Benitez Drywall LLC, a Houston-based drywall company, and its owners for alleged violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD).  Back wages are expected to exceed $500,000 for more than 500 construction workers. Also named in the department's lawsuit are Ruben Benitez, president of the company and Hoguer Benitez, vice president.

"To protect workers engaged in hurricane recovery and rebuilding, last year the department deployed additional investigators to the Gulf Coast region to better ensure that employers fully comply with wage and hour laws," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This legal action is among our many efforts on behalf of these workers who are doing vital work for the Gulf Coast region's recovery and who deserve and are entitled to receive all the wages they have earned."

Benitez Drywall performed on contracts for reconstruction along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The WHD investigation of the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino contract in Biloxi, Miss. and other worksites, found that Benitez regularly misclassified employees as independent contractors and failed to pay them the additional half time overtime premium for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The company also failed to maintain accurate records of employees' wages and hours of work.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 per week. The law also requires that accurate records of employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained. For purposes of the FLSA, there are a number of factors for determining whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee. In this case, WHD found that company's workers did not meet the legal factors for independent contractor status.

The Labor Department lawsuit asks the court to permanently enjoin the defendants from future violations of the law and to order them to pay employees overtime back wages due, along with an equal amount in liquidated damages and prejudgment interest.

The Houston district office of the Wage and Hour Division conducted this investigation and the department's lawsuit was filed by the Solicitor of Labor's regional office in Dallas. For more information about the provisions of the FLSA, contact the DOL's toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or the Houston Wage and Hour office at (713) 339-5500, or go to www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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