A Houston car-detailing company has been made to pay more than $166,000 in back wages for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced recently.
Majestic Dealership Services Inc. (MDS) was found to have violated the FLSA by misclassifying 106 workers as independent contractors instead of hourly employees, the DOL reported July 11. MDS paid the improperly classified workers straight-time wages for all hours worked and so denied the workers overtime pay for hours over 40 worked in a pay week and employee benefits, according to the report. The company also failed to keep accurate records, the DOL states.
Robin Mallett, Houston district director for Wage and Hour, which investigated MDS, called misclassifying workers as independent contractor an "all-too-common violation among employers in Houston and around the nation."
Workers at a Houston car-detailing company received more than $106,000 in back wages after a DOL investigation found they were improperly paid.
| Pfc. Victoria Fairchild/USMC/Wikimedia Commons
“Employers who misclassify workers deny them their full wages, benefits and legal rights," Mallett said in the report, "avoid payments of payroll taxes which cheats all taxpayers, and gain an unfair and illegal competitive advantage over employers whose pay practices abide by the law.”
MDS, whose workers valet, wash and detail autos at area car dealerships, paid a total of $166,435, according to the DOJ report.
