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ESA News Release: [03/13/2006]
Contact Name: Jo Anne Burgoyne
Phone Number: (404) 562-2076
Release Number: 06-0369-ATL

U.S. Labor Department Recovers Over $778,000 in Back Wages For Nearly 1,900 Employees of Jacksonville Financial Services Company

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Labor Department announced today that Fidelity National Financial agreed to pay a total of $778,392 in back wages to 1,895 workers after a Wage and Hour Division investigation found they had not been paid in accordance with provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“This Administration is committed to protecting overtime rights and ensuring that workers receive all the wages they have earned,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “We have recovered more than $778,000 in back wages for these workers. The employer has also changed the payroll system so that overtime will be properly compensated in the future.”

Wage and Hour investigators found that calculations to determine overtime rates were incorrect because they did not include commissions paid to employees covered by the FLSA.

The company cooperated with the department and made changes to its payroll system nationwide to assure future compliance. The back wages have been paid to employees throughout the country.

Fidelity National Financial, headquartered in Jacksonville, is a provider of real estate, title, escrow, specialty insurance and financial institution processing and outsourcing services.

The FLSA requires that covered workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay, including commission, for all hours worked over 40 in a single work week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243); visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the Jacksonville Wage and Hour Division office located in the Charles E. Bennett Federal Building, 400 Bay St., Suite 956; phone: (904) 359-9292.