Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Birmingham-based Communications Unlimited of the South Inc. has paid $181,967 in back wages to 213 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The investigation determined that some employees had not been paid in accordance with the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Wage and Hour investigators found that the company failed to pay cable installers at an overtime rate when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week and failed to accurately record their time worked. A review of records from December 2002 to December 2004, found that these employees were paid commissions and piece rates for each cable installation.

The investigation also found that one manager’s salary did not meet the minimum salary requirements of the “Overtime Security” rule that became effective last year. Under that regulation, employees must be paid a weekly salary of at least $455 or a minimum yearly salary of $23,660 to be exempt from the FLSA overtime requirements.

“The company cooperated fully during the investigation at the company’s Birmingham location and agreed to pay back wages to all affected employees working at locations in Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia,” said Oliver Peebles III, director of the Gulf Coast district office.

The FLSA requires employers to pay covered workers one-and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single work week. Employers must also maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. The Act provides an exemption from overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet certain job duty and salary tests. Such workers earning less than $23,660 per year – or $455 per week – are always guaranteed overtime pay protection under the Labor Department’s regulations.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint during that time decreased from 108 days to 92 days.

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 www.dol.gov/fairpay, or contact the Birmingham Wage and Hour office, which covers Mississippi and Alabama. The office is located in the Medical Forum, 950 22nd St., N., Suite 656, phone (205) 731-1305.

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