Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Cablevision Systems Corp., of Woodbury, N.Y., has paid more than $400,000 in back wages to 2,373 low-wage temporary employees as the result of a settlement agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division into violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

According to Corlis Sellers, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Northeast region, the investigation found that temporary employees working as customer service and technical support representatives at Cablevision call centers in Melville, Woodbury and Bronx, N.Y., Newark, N.J. and Stratford, Conn. had not been paid for work they performed before and after their regularly scheduled shifts.

“After bringing the violations to the attention of this employer, the Labor Department was able to achieve a settlement that secured payment for these workers and future compliance by this employer,” said Sellers. “Employees must be paid for all hours that they work. Extra minutes of ‘off-the-clock’ time before or after a shift can result in a substantial back wage liability for employers.”

The FLSA requires that employees be paid for all time worked and that eligible employees be paid one and one-half time their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. In this case, the addition of the uncompensated work to their regular shift meant that employees were working in excess of 40 hours per week and not being paid for their overtime.

In the settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Cablevision agreed to pay a total of $400,999 in back wages covering the period Aug. 12, 2002 to Nov. 15, 2004, and agreed to comply in the future with all provisions of the FLSA. The company previously changed its work practices to correct the FLSA violations.

Workers and employers on Long Island with questions or concerns about proper payment under the FLSA may contact the Wage and Hour Division’s Long Island District Office at (516) 338-1890. Information is also available by calling the toll-free number (800) 4US-WAGE. A new ‘off the clock’ compliance assistance tool is available via the Internet at www.dol.gov/esa/whd/offtheclock/index.htm.

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