Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The U.S. Department of Labor filed a consent judgment in its case against Knowles Security under which Knowles Security has agree to pay $101,695 for 11 low-wage security guards. The department’s Wage and Hour Division found the Orange-based security company in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for failing to pay an overtime rate to employees who worked more than forty hours in a workweek.

“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers at all earning levels are paid the full wages they are entitled to receive,” said George Friday Jr., regional administrator of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. “Workers who put in extra hours beyond the traditional work week are entitled to higher overtime pay for those hours.”

The investigation determined that the firm paid employees straight time for all hours worked, even when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The FLSA requires that employees earn no less than the federal minimum wage of $5.15 for all hours worked, and one-and-one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week.

Knowles Security provides armed and unarmed security services for car lots, shopping malls and apartment complexes. The employees, most of whom were Hispanic, were post and patrol guards, and all were paid at least minimum wage for all hours worked.

Under the terms of the consent judgment, filed in Central District Court, the firm agreed to make an initial payment of $25,423 and pay the remainder of the backwages in equal monthly installments over 24 months. The investigation covered October 25, 2002 through October 25, 2004. The department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers.

For more information about the FLSA, call the San Diego Wage and Hour office at (619) 557-5606 or the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US WAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

Chao v. Joe Jesus Zuniga – Civil Action File No.: SAC VO-0039-JVS

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