Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- Esteemed Patrol Inc., also known as Esteem Patrol Service Inc., a Brooklyn, N.Y., security guard company, and owner Rudolph Caputo have agreed to pay 186 employees a total of $149,231 in overtime back wages and interest to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The defendants must also pay the Labor Department a civil money penalty of $76,725.

The Labor Department’s suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York following an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that disclosed violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions at the business.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage as well as time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Additionally, the law requires that accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained, and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

“Security guards serve a very important function in today’s society,” said Philip Jacobson, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in New York City, “and employers of such workers should be well aware of their legal obligation to pay employees properly for all the hours they work.”

A consent judgment signed by Judge Frederic Block prohibits the defendants from future violations of the FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and anti-retaliation provisions. It orders the defendants to pay the back wages covering the period between August 10, 2003, and August 6, 2006, plus interest. The defendants agreed to entry of the judgment while neither admitting nor denying the allegations contained in the Labor Department’s suit.

If the defendants fail to make the payments, the court will appoint a receiver with power to seize and liquidate their assets to satisfy the order. They are also ordered to advise employees of their rights under the FLSA, and in particular their right to engage in protected activity without fear of retaliation. Finally, the defendants must post official posters explaining employee rights under the FLSA where all employees may view them.

The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division concluded 30,467 compliance actions and recovered a record $220 million in back wages for more than 341,000 employees in fiscal year 2007. Back-wage collections in fiscal year 2007 represent a 67 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 58 percent since fiscal year 2001. For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.wagehour.dol.gov, and an interactive “e-laws advisor” providing detailed information about FLSA compliance is available at www.dol.gov/elaws/flsa.htm.

Chao v. Esteem Patrol Service Inc., et al; Civil Action Number: 08-CV-00761-FB-KAM

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