Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- A Guam construction contractor has paid $382,378 in back wages to 69 workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division which found that employees were not paid overtime wages in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

"Both this investigation and our new Overtime Security rules reflect our commitment to protecting the overtime rights of workers," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "In this case, employees were not receiving their rightful minimum wage and overtime pay. We have restored nearly $400,000 in back wages to these workers."

The investigation determined that Harmon Corporation failed to meet its payroll obligations for November and December of 2003. The company also failed to pay its employees minimum wage, and took non-permissible deductions from their pay during overtime workweeks. The FLSA requires employees be paid the federal minimum wage of $5.15 per hour for all hours worked and one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. The investigation covered records from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2003.

Sixty-one of the employees affected are foreign nationals from the Republic of the Philippines and entered Guam under the H-2b visa program, a program administered by the Government of Guam's Alien Labor Processing and Certification Division.

Harmon Corporation has agreed to current and future compliance with the FLSA.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $212 million in back wages in federal fiscal year 2003, a 21 percent increase over the record setting amount in the previous year. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased from 129 days to 108 days during the same period. In addition, the agency assessed employers nearly $10 million in civil money penalties in federal fiscal 2003.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), or contact the Guam Field Office of the Wage and Hour Division at 473-9178. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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