Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BOSTON -- American Tower Corporation, a nationwide telecommunications company with a corporate office in Boston, has paid nearly $290,000 in back wages to 167 employees for uncompensated overtime work revealed during a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

American Tower Corporation, a nationwide telecommunications company with a corporate office in Boston, has paid nearly $290,000 in back wages to 167 employees for uncompensated overtime work revealed during a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

“Both this investigation and our new Overtime Security rules reflect our commitment to protecting the overtime rights of workers,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “In this case, employees weren’t receiving their rightful overtime pay, and this Administration took action and restored almost $290,000 in back wages to 167 employees. Workers’ overtime rights are further strengthened by our new Overtime Security rules, which increase protections for millions of workers by updating and clarifying the old regulations,” she said.

“Through the Department’s determined efforts, more than $212 million in back wages were recovered for workers last year,” Chao added.

During the investigation conducted by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, it was discovered that several positions were misclassified by the company between May 1, 2001 and March 1, 2003 as being exempt from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In all, twenty-eight positions were found to be misclassified, including the positions of Feasibility Specialist, Paralegal, Regional Administrator and Project Coordinator.

Covered workers are entitled to a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour and overtime pay at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

American Tower Corporation owns and operates approximately 14,000 telecommunications sites throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, and employs around 1,260 employees nationwide. As a result of the Wage and Hour investigation, American Tower agreed to perform a self-audit to determine which employees had been misclassified and were due overtime. The company has now paid 167 employees a total of $289,951 in overtime-back wages.

The Boston District Office of the Wage and Hour Division conducted the investigation of the American Tower Corporation. For more information about the provisions of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), or contact the Boston office at (617) 624-6700. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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