Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NASHVILE, Tenn. -- Allen Edmondson Electrical Contractor, Knoxville, Tenn., has agreed to pay $113,304 in overtime back wages to 28 employees as the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

“Companies must ensure that employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are paid for all of the hours they work,” said Carol Merchant, district director of the Wage and Hour Division’s office in Nashville.

Investigators found that the company violated the FLSA by failing to record and pay non-exempt crew leaders for time spent loading their trucks prior to traveling to the jobsite and for time traveling between the jobsite and their employer’s place of business.

The FLSA defines compensable time as time that an employee is required or permitted to work for the employer. Preparation time as well as time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered work time and employees must be paid for these hours. If work time during a week exceeds 40 hours, then the employees must be paid overtime.

The company operates as an electrical contractor in the construction industry.

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 department’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243); visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the Wage and Hour Division office in Nashville, 1321 Murfreesboro Road, Suite 511; telephone: (615) 781-5344.

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