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ESA-WHD New Release: [08/10/1999]
Contact Name: Brad Mitchell, Juan Solano,
or James R. Smith
Phone Number: (312) 353-6976 or (313) 226-6629
Release Number: V-160
U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT TAKES LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST DEARBORN FIRMS FOR REPEATED VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL OVERTIME PAY LAWS
Chicago — The U.S. Labor Department has filed legal actions in Federal District Court, Detroit, and before an Administrative Law Judge against Medi-Tech Associates, Inc., and Med-Temps, Inc., both located in Dearborn, Mich., for overtime pay violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is the federal minimum wage and overtime pay law.
The complaint filed in Federal District Court seeks to recover back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for former and current employees which the Labor Department alleges were denied time and one-half pay for overtime hours.
In a separate action, the Department has also asked an administrative law judge to begin adjudication of $46,250 in civil money penalties assessed against the firms as a result of repeat violations of the overtime pay laws. The companies had filed an exception to the penalties in February, 1999.
The two firms are both engaged in the business of providing temporary workers to Detroit-area hospitals and nursing homes. Legal action followed an investigation by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division which found that employees were paid by one of the companies for some hours worked in a single workweek and then paid by the other company for additional hours without either company paying the time and one-half premium payment for overtime in weeks when the total hours worked exceeded forty.
Enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration, the FLSA sets a federal minimum wage and requires overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in any workweek for most workers. The FLSA also requires employers to keep time and payroll records.
The legal actions are the result of an investigation by the Wage and Hour District Office, 221 W. Fort St., Rm. 1317, Detroit, under the supervision of District Director James R. Smith. Smith said that health care workers are often on the low end of the wage scale and "'these are the people we are determined to protect."
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