Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Memo’s Scaffolding, a Norwalk, Calif.-based construction company, has paid $200,013 in overtime back wages to 231 current and former low-wage workers, plus $60,000 in civil penalties, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Investigators found that the employees, some of whom worked in excess of 60 hours a week, did not receive overtime pay as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Memo’s Scaffolding also failed to record the overtime hours for these employees. The company, with locations in Fontana, San Fernando and Norwalk, Calif., is owned by Jose Guillermo (“Memo”) Santos and specializes in setting up scaffolding for residential and commercial construction projects from Ventura County to San Diego County, Calif.

“This action reflects the Department of Labor’s commitment to protect overtime rights and ensure that workers receive the wages they have earned,” said George Friday Jr., western regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division. “In this case, the low-wage workers were not properly paid for all the hours they worked, and we were able to recover over $200,000 in back wages for them.”

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage and receive overtime at one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 workers and assessed nearly $7.9 million in civil money penalties in fiscal year 2006. Back-wage collections last year represent a 30 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since fiscal 2001.

The Wage and Hour Division offers a Web site, www.wagehour.dol.gov, to help employers understand their FLSA obligations. Additionally, an online tool – the elaws FLSA Overtime Security Advisor at www.dol.gov/elaws/overtime.htm – is available for determining overtime eligibility.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Wage and Hour Division’s East Los Angeles District Office in West Covina, Calif., at (626) 966-0478 or the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243).

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