Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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HOUSTON -- A Abana Insurance Services Inc., a Houston automobile insurance provider, has agreed to pay $89,622 in back wages to 56 current and former sales representatives in Houston and Beaumont for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Workers are entitled to receive at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime compensation for hours worked over 40 in a workweek,” said Martin Barrow, district director for the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division in Houston. “In this case, the company’s non-exempt, salaried employees were not fully compensated.”

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, covering the period April 20, 2003 to April 10, 2005, concluded that A Abana Insurance Services failed to pay a salary sufficient to cover the minimum wage for all hours worked and failed to pay overtime to covered non-exempt employees for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. In addition, the firm did not maintain accurate and complete payroll records as required by the law.

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 to 92 days.

For more information about federal overtime laws, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Houston district office at (713) 339-5500. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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