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ESA-WHD New Release: [06/18/1996]
Contact Name: John M. Chavez
Phone Number: (617) 565-2075
Release Number: BOS 96-104
BILLERICA, MASS., EMPLOYERS ORDERED TO PAY 26 EMPLOYEES OVER $16,000 IN BACK WAGES FOR FEDERAL WAGE & HOUR LAW VIOLATIONS
BOSTON, MA — SPES COMPANY, INC., of Billerica, Massachusetts, along with two officers of the corporation, have been ordered to pay twenty six employees over $16,000 in back wages (plus interest) as the result of a judgment by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The court order, agreed to by the parties and signed by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns, resolves a suit filed against the defendants by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including failure to pay employees proper overtime wages, and failure to maintain adequate and accurate payroll records.
According to Corey Surett, Massachusetts District Director for the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), a total of $16,432.28 (plus interest) is due twenty six employees who worked for the construction firm for the period of time between September 11, 1993 and April 1, 1994.
Surett noted that the order also prohibits the defendants, who agreed to entry of the judgment without admitting liability, from future violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition to SPES Company, Inc., the defendants in this case included Robert Allen of Wilmington, Mass., as president of the company, and Theresa Allen of Wilmington, Mass., as clerk of the corporation.
Passed in 1938, the FLSA--also known as the federal wage and hour law--today covers more than 80 million workers nationwide, explained Surett. The law, enforced by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, sets the federal minimum wage at $4.25 per hour and generally requires overtime for hours worked over 40 in any workweek. It also prohibits child labor abuse and requires employers to keep adequate time and payroll records.
Surett stressed that Wage and Hour Administrator Maria Echaveste has directed the Wage and Hour Division to adopt a strategy of tough, responsible, and consistent enforcement, which includes getting results swiftly and efficiently through litigation when necessary.
The department's legal action against the firm followed an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division district office headquartered in Boston, Mass.
The civil action file number for this case is 95-11694RGS.
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