US Department of Labor recovers more than $48K in back wages, damages for 19 employees denied overtime by Palm Coast construction contractor

Employer:                                  Drevo Inc.

                                                    55 Brooklyn Lane

                                                    Palm Coast, FL 32137

Investigation Findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a Florida commercial carpentry and millwork contractor paid 19 employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the required time-and-a-half overtime premium for hours over 40 hours in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages:         $24,388 in back overtime wages

                                                                           $24,388 in liquidated damages                             

Quote: “Workers deserve to be paid all the wages they earn. Employers who fail to pay workers what the law requires may owe back wages, plus liquidated damages and even civil money penalties. Taken as a whole, these can quickly add up to a costly lesson,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “We encourage other employers to use this investigation’s outcome as an opportunity to review their pay practices to avoid similar violations.”

Background: The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions and review our compliance assistance toolkit for the construction industry. The department will assist workers, regardless of their immigration status, and staff can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Keep track of hours and pay with the agency’s new Timesheet App for Apple and android devices, available in English and Spanish.