Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (Florida A&M) in Tallahassee, Fla., has agreed to pay $272,988 in back wages to 352 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division which found university-wide violations of the overtime provisions and recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Public agencies have an obligation to follow the FLSA as it pertains to them and to keep accurate time records,” said Michael Young, director for the Wage and Hour Division’s Jacksonville District Office. “The department will continue our efforts to ensure that governments as well as private businesses are paying employees properly."

Investigators found that the school failed to total the hours when employees worked in different departments or jobs during a workweek resulting in some employees not receiving credit for overtime when their total hours exceeded 40 in a workweek. In addition, it was determined that employees were awarded compensatory time on an hourly basis rather than at a rate of 1.5 hours for each hour accrued, and employees were allowed to accrue in excess of 240 hours of compensatory time in a leave year.

The FLSA requires that when an employee works two or more jobs for a single employer during a workweek that the hours be added together for purposes of determining overtime payments. The law contains special provisions concerning overtime accrual for employees of public agencies including allowing for compensatory time in lieu of cash overtime payments at a rate of not less than one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked. With exceptions for police, fire fighters, emergency response personnel, and employees engaged in seasonal activities; employees may accrue up to 240 hours of compensatory time.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division concluded 30,467 compliance actions and recovered a record $220 million in back wages for more than 341,000 employees in fiscal year 2007. Back-wage collections in fiscal year 2007 represent a 67 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 58 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the department’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (866-487-9243); visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the Jacksonville District Office of the Wage and Hour Division, 400 West Bay St., Suite 956; phone 904-359-9292.

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