Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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VERONA, N.J. -- Sky-Hi Window Cleaning, Inc., doing business as Sky-Hi Industrial Maintenance of Verona, N.J. recently reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to pay 88 workers back pay with interest totaling $173,898. Sky-Hi employs more than 120 janitors, window and office cleaners who service mostly-commercial buildings throughout northern and central New Jersey.

The agreement was reached as a result of an investigation conducted by the department's Wage and Hour Division in Mountainside, N.J., covering the period June 1999 to June 2001.

According to Joseph Petrecca, district director of the Mountainside office, workers began receiving back wage payments this month as part of the agreement, in an installment plan that will continue through September 2003. Back wages were due because of the firm's failure to pay minimum wage to mostly low-wage earning workers for all hours worked, and for failure to pay the proper overtime to workers who regularly worked more than 40 hours in a work week.

"This case is significant because it involves a worker population often exploited in the workplace, and traditionally reluctant to seek help from the government," Petrecca said. "We will continue to do all we can to assist all workers and ensure that employers are complying fully with federal labor laws."

Sky-Hi has also agreed to fully comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in the future.

The FLSA sets the federal minimum wage at $5.15 per hour and generally requires overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 in any workweek. It also sets standards for the employment of youth and requires employers to keep adequate time and payroll records.

For more information on the requirements of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Mountainside office at 973-645-2279. Information is also available on the Internet at www.dol.gov.

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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.