The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $330,000 in back wages and damages for workers who were denied overtime from a Long Island maintenance company.
Professional Building Maintenance Corp. and owner Brady Patruno reportedly underpaid 51 employees by not paying overtime wages as required by law, a May 1 DOL news release said.
“Employers who wrongly believe they can disregard the law and deprive workers of their hard-earned wages will face significant consequences when their illegal actions are discovered,” Wage and Hour Division District Director David An said in the release.
The Wage and Hour Division found the employees who worked as many as 80 hours per week or more typically were paid straight-time hourly rates instead of overtime for hours beyond 40 in a workweek, the release said.
“The investigation recovered $166,702 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages and led the department to assess $15,432 in civil money penalties because of the willful nature of the violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” the release said.
Fair Labor Standards Act requires most U.S. employees be paid at least federal minimum wage for hours worked and “overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the required rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek,” the release reported.
Professional Building Maintenance Corp. and Patruno “paid employees working overtime hours in a pay period by issuing more than one check, one from the company’s payroll account for the first 40 or fewer hours of work and a second check from another account for overtime hours,” the release said. The required overtime rate wasn’t paid.
“The company issued checks for overtime hours at straight-time hourly rates either from a second company bank account and/or from straw corporations that Professional Building Maintenance Corp. passed off as subcontractors,” the release said.
“Workers and employers with questions about their rights and responsibilities under federal law should feel free to contact the Wage and Hour Division," An added, according to the release.
The division’s toll-free helpline is 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), the release reported.
