Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SALT LAKE CITY -- The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that a Salt Lake City excavation contractor has agreed to pay 41 workers $40,000 in overtime back pay to settle a federal lawsuit alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“The Department of Labor is committed to enforcing the law and ensuring that employees receive the wages they are owed,” said Dean A. Campbell, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Salt Lake City.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Spectrum Excavating Inc., part-owner Paul F. Burningham, and President Arthur Blackmore failed to pay hourly workers overtime compensation when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week. Two of the workers, who were being treated as independent contractors, were found to be employees covered by the FLSA. The investigation covered the period May 2000 through May 2002.

The consent judgment, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central Division of Utah, permanently enjoins Blackmore, Burningham and the firm from future violations of the overtime pay provisions of the FLSA. Back wages will be paid to present and former workers over a 10-month period.

The FLSA requires employees to be paid the minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased during that time from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’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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