Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Department of Labor has found that a Monterey residential care provider owes $91,749 in back wages to 32 employees for unpaid overtime. An investigation by the Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Victorian Home Care, Inc. incorrectly classified employees working as house managers as exempt from overtime pay.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that non-exempt employees earn one-and-one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week. The house managers, who worked 12 hour shifts for a total of 50 to 60 hours per week, were paid their regular rate of pay for all hours worked. The managers typically cooked meals for the care home residents and provided limited direction to housekeepers and attendants working in one of the three homes operated by Victorian Home Care in Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel. The wages compensate the employees for overtime pay earned over a two-year period.

“We want firms to understand who they can legally classify as exempt from overtime pay under FLSA regulations,” said George Friday, Jr., regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Friday said the Wage and Hour Division offers a user-friendly Web site at www.dol.gov/fairpay to help employers properly pay and classify their employees under the Overtime Security Regulations, and an on-line tool for determining overtime eligibility called the elaws FLSA Overtime Security Advisor (www.dol.gov/elaws/overtime.htm).

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers nationwide. For more information about the FLSA, employers and employees can visit www.wagehour.dol.gov or call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US WAGE (1-866-487-9243).

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.