Sunrise, Fla., painting and waterproofing company J & J has been ordered to pay $86,530 in back wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, according to a news release from the agency. The company will pay back 25 employees after investigators determined J & J violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Wage and Hour Division investigators found that the painting and waterproofing company, doing business as Eagle Painting, incorrectly classified the majority of its employees as independent contractors, paying them a straight-time rate for hours worked. This practice resulted in overtime violations when the employees worked greater than 40-hour workweeks. Investigators also found employees were instructed to begin workdays by loading equipment onto company vehicles prior to traveling to the work site, but J & J did not start recording work hours until the employees arrived at the work site. This practice also resulted in overtime violations when preshift, travel, and work-site hours combined to exceed 40 hours per week for certain employees.
The Wage and Hour Division investigation also found J & J failed to maintain accurate records that included employees’ travel time and did not include staff incorrectly classified as independent contractors.
“The law requires employers to pay workers for all the hours they work, including any time spent working before or after scheduled shifts, or traveling between job sites during the workday,” said Miami Wage and Hour Division district director Tony Pham. “The Wage and Hour Division works to ensure that employees receive the wages they rightfully earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field.”