Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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DALLAS, Texas -- Dallas County Hospital District, doing business as Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas, has paid $487,970 in back overtime wages after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found that 459 former and current medical workers, administrators and maintenance workers had not been properly paid.

The investigation covered the two-year period between Jan. 16, 2004, and Jan. 16, 2006. Investigators determined that Parkland Health and Hospital System had violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by incorrectly classifying employees as exempt from the law and failing to properly pay them overtime wages. In addition, required recordkeeping was not maintained.

“The Department of Labor is committed to enforcing the law to ensure that employees receive the wages they have earned,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s southwest regional administrator. “The employer deducted half an hour for lunch each day when many employees did not take lunch breaks, leading to overtime violations.”

The company cooperated with the investigation and agreed to future compliance with the FLSA, which requires that covered employees be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Under this law, 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 fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Wage and Hour Division’s Dallas District Office at (817) 861-2150 or (817) 261-4371 (metro toll-free number), or the Department of Labor’s toll-free line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov. Details about the current exemption for while-collar executive, administrative and professional employees can be found at www.dol.gov/fairpay.

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.