Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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CHICAGO -- Two workers employed by F and W Lawn Care and Landscaping, Inc., Bloomington, Ill., have received back pay totaling $7,372 under an agreement reached between the company and the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, the agency announced today.

The agreement resolves a formal complaint filed in Federal District Court in Springfield, Ill., that alleged the lawn care business had failed to pay the workers time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a single workweek, in violation of the overtime pay provisions of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

"People in the lawn care business are typically low paid workers," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Henry Rodriguez, Springfield. "It is extremely important that they receive all the wages due them.

"Many employers simply need clarification of their legal responsibilities, and we encourage them to contact the Wage and Hour Division for a better understanding of what the law requires." Rodriguez said.

He noted that F and W erred by paying straight time for overtime rather than the time-and-one-half premium.

In issuing the Agreed Judgment, Federal District Court Judge Joe B. McDade also ordered the business to comply with the overtime pay and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA, and prohibited the company from taking any retaliatory action against employees for whom back wages were secured.

Enforced by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, the FLSA sets the minimum wage at $5.15, generally requires employers to pay overtime at one and one-half times the regular hourly rate after 40 hours in any workweek and requires that employers pay employees for time worked.

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 the Wage and Hour Division District office in Springfield at (217) 492-4060. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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