Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Allstate Interior Demolition Inc., located in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, N.Y., has agreed to pay 37 employees almost $82,000 in overtime back wages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division into alleged violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“In this case,” said Philip Jacobson, New York City district director for the Wage and Hour Division, “our investigation found 37 employees working 55 to 70 hours per week while being paid for 50 hours or less. Even then, they were only paid straight time, rather than time and a half, for the hours worked over 40 in a single work week.”

The FLSA requires that employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked more than 40 per week. It also requires employers to keep accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment, which Allstate Interior also failed to do.

Jacobson noted that the employer was aware that employees should be paid time and one-half for overtime hours worked, as other employees were paid proper overtime pay. “Because this appeared to be a willful violation of the law,” he said, “we also assessed this employer a civil money penalty totaling $16,280.”

Allstate Interior Demolition has agreed to pay 37 employees a total of $81,900 in overtime back wages in installments, to be completed by Sept. 15.

Information on the requirements of the FLSA may be obtained by contacting the New York City District Office of the Wage and Hour Division at 212-264-8185 or by calling the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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