Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The U.S. Labor Department today announced that an Eagen, Minn. Trucking firm, Hoovestal, Inc., operating in six states as a contractor for the U.S. Postal Service, has paid $142,012 in back wages owed to 250 workers employed to haul mail on 27 contracts with the U.S. Postal Service.

"The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers are paid correctly for all hours worked," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "In this case, the Labor Department has restored $142,012 to wage earners who keep this economy strong and growing."

The majority of the back wages were owed as a result of the company's failure to pay holiday pay, vacation pay and fringe benefits as contractually required under the federal Service Contract Act (SCA). Of the amount due, $12,708 was owed to 24 workers because the company failed to pay the prevailing wage for all hours worked. These workers were not paid for time spent in post trip inspection activities when they hauled mail between Minneapolis, Minn. and Indianapolis, Ind.

The SCA requires contractors providing services to the federal government to pay at least the locally prevailing wage rate and fringe benefits, as determined by the Department of Labor, for the type of work performed.

The department's Wage and Hour Division conducted the investigation. In addition to SCA, the Wage and Hour Division also enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires employees be paid the federal minimum wage of $5.15 and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over forty in a single workweek. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2003 - a 21 percent increase over the record setting amount in FY 2002. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2003 from 129 days to 108 days. The Wage and Hour Division assessed employers nearly $10 million civil money penalties in FY 2003.

For more information about SCA and FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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