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ESA-WHD New Release: [01/14/1999]
Contact Name: John M. Chavez
Phone Number: (617) 565-2075
Release Number: BOS 99-007
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, EMPLOYER ORDERED TO PAY EMPLOYEES OVER $27,000 IN BACK WAGES FOR FEDERAL WAGE & HOUR LAW VIOLATIONS
BOSTON, MA — Garden Homes Management Corporation, of Stamford, Connecticut, and Joel E. Freedman, president of the corporation, have been ordered to pay 17 employees $27,805 in back wages as the result of a court order issued by the U.S. District Court for Connecticut.
The order, agreed to by the parties and signed by U.S. District Judge Dominic J. Squatrito, 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 Dianne Miller, Connecticut District Director for the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division in Hartford, the total amount of $27,805 was due 17 employees who worked for the company, which manages apartment complexes and shopping centers, between October 1, 1996 and December 20, 1998. Miller indicated that the employees, who were all maintenance workers, have received their back wages according to verification provided to the Wage & Hour Division by the employer.
Miller 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. She also stressed that the Wage and Hour Division has a strategy of tough, responsible, and consistent enforcement, which includes litigation when necessary.
Passed in 1938, the FLSA--also known as the federal wage and hour law--today covers more than 110 million workers nationwide, explained Miller. The law, enforced by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, sets the federal minimum wage at $5.15 per hour and generally requires overtime for hours worked more than 40 in any workweek. It also prohibits child labor abuse and requires employers to keep adequate time and payroll records.
The department's legal action against the company followed an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division district office headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.
The civil action file number for this case is 3:98cv278(DJS).
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