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ESA News Release: [06/21/2006]
Contact Name: Dan Fuqua 
Phone Number: (404) 562-2078    
Release Number: 06-1003-ATL

U.S. Labor Department Recovering Over $574,000 in Back Wages for Almost 200 Employees of Atlanta Area Soil Erosion Control Company

ATLANTA — The U.S. Labor Department announced today that Atlanta Erosion Consultants of Norcross, Ga., has agreed to pay $574,486 in overtime back wages to 193 workers after a Wage and Hour Division investigation found they had not been paid in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

"The Department is committed to ensuring that employers pay workers all the wages they have earned," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "We are recovering more than a half million dollars in back wages for these workers and have taken steps to ensure that they are properly compensated for overtime in the future."

Wage and Hour investigators found that the company paid installers of temporary fences to control soil erosion straight time after they worked more than 40 hours per workweek. Payments to workers for overtime hours were reportedly disguised as bonuses on the company's payroll records.

The company cooperated with the department and made changes to its payroll system to assure future compliance.

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 commissions, 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 Atlanta Wage and Hour Division office located in the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW; phone: (404) 893-4600.

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