Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio --

First Ohio Banc and Lending Inc., a mortgage lending company based in Independence, has paid $307,702 in back wages to 298 employees for minimum wage violations at 14 Ohio offices found during an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

“The Labor Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the law and ensuring that workers receive all of the wages they are owed,” said George Victory, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Columbus.

The Wage and Hour Division investigated First Ohio Banc and Lending under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal law that establishes minimum wage and overtime standards. Loan officers were paid commissions on a twice-monthly basis and received no pay if they had not closed loans during a pay period, resulting in minimum wage violations. The violations occurred between August 2004 and August 2006.

After the Wage and Hour Division explained the requirements of the law, the company agreed to pay all back wages owed the employees and to comply with the federal wage and hour law in the future.

The FLSA requires covered employees to be paid the minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week. Employees who are paid commissions must receive at least the minimum wage, just as employees who are paid by the hour or by the piece do. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

Branch offices in which violations occurred are located in Bath, Canton, Green, Independence, Lakewood, Medina, Mentor, Middleburg Heights, North Ridgeville, Twinsburg, Westlake and Willoughby, Ohio.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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