Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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ATLANTA -- Woodman Insulation of Cummings, Ga., has agreed to pay $187,500 in back wages to 309 employees following a determination by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that the company did not comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Employers are obligated to keep accurate records and pay their employees in accordance with the FLSA,” said Janet Campbell, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Atlanta District Office. “If management does not follow the rules, the Wage and Hour Division will act decisively to obtain the payments due those employees under federal law.”

Investigators found that some employees received only straight piece rate earnings, regardless of the number of hours worked, resulting in overtime violations when they exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. In addition, salaried, nonexempt employees were not paid additional compensation when they worked over 40 hours. The company did not keep accurate records of the hours worked by either of these groups of employees.

The FLSA requires covered employees to be paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Earnings may be determined on a piece-rate, salary, commission or some other basis, but in all such cases the overtime pay due must be computed on the basis of the average hourly rate derived from such earnings. The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees.

Woodman Insulation is engaged in the installation of insulation, rain gutters and fireplaces.

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 year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 58 percent since fiscal year 2001.

Information about the FLSA is available through the department’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243); on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or by contacting the Wage and Hour Division office in Atlanta, 61 Forsyth St. SW, Suite 7M10; telephone: 404-893-4525. Information about the current exemption 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.