Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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DENVER -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has sued a Denver-area masonry employer for repeat violations of the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Labor Department lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, charges Central Masonry Corp., Littleton, Colo., and Neal House for repeat and continuing violations of the FLSA from October 2003 to the present. The complaint does not mention an amount due, but it is estimated to be in excess of $80,000.

An investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found the firm in violation of the FLSA by failing to pay employees overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The division also filed a complaint with the department’s chief administrative law judge alleging the defendants have repeated and willfully violated the labor statute; a civil monetary penalty of $6,428 was assessed.

“The Department of Labor is committed to enforcing the law and ensuring that employees receive the wages they are owed,” said Alex Salaiz, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Denver.

The Wage and Hour Division investigated the same company in 2001, resulting in overtime payments exceeding $4,500.

The FLSA requires that covered workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and one and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Employers must also maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions in fiscal year 2006 and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees. Back-wage collections last year represent a 30 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243) or contact the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Denver at (720) 264-3250. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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