A law firm in Detroit was fined $112,000 for failing to pay overtime wages to 36 workers, the U.S. Department of Labor announced April 6.
McKeen & Associates P.C. was found guilty of misapplying overtime rules to avoid paying overtime for hours worked over 40 per pay week, DOL reports in the announcement. The staff were on salary, the announcement states, but did not meet the legal requirements to be exempt from overtime wages, according to the DOL. McKeen & Associates P.C. specializes in medical malpractice and personal injury cases at its offices in Detroit, South Haven, and Ottawa, Ohio, according to the DOL.
“Our investigation of McKeen & Associates found the firm systemically violated overtime regulations by misapplying overtime rules to avoid paying salaried workers the overtime pay they were due,” Timolin Mitchell, Wage & Hour district director in Detroit, said in the announcement.
An investigation by DOL's Wage and Hour Division determined that certain staff members of McKeen & Associates met salary requirements but not duty requirements for deferment of overtime pay as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, DOL reports.
Exemptions from the overtime-wages obligations include positions as an executive, administrative, or professional staff paid a salary or fee of at least $684 per week; whose primary duties are defined as "predominantly intellectual;" and that require advanced knowledge typically acquired by "a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction," according to the report.
Violations of overtime-wage laws are some of the most frequent, and avoidable, offenses uncovered by WHD, the report states.
"We encourage employers to use our online tools or contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions," Mitchell said in the report, "to ensure they are paying workers all of their rightful wages and prevent costly penalties for violating the law.”
