Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

ESA Press Release: California Pool Contractor To Pay $608,000 To Workers [08/22/2000]

For more information call: (202) 693-0023

A Pleasanton, Calif., pool contractor will pay $608,000 to settle charges that he knowingly failed to pay employees overtime and falsified records to conceal the illegal practice. The case was brought by the U.S. Department of Labor for violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

"This settlement is important for the workers who were exploited and for the law-abiding local contractors who pay their employees fairly," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said. "We will vigorously prosecute employers who gain an unfair advantage over their competitors at the expense of their own workers."

The Labor Department found that Prestige Gunite by Adams, Inc. and its president, William Huchton, routinely paid work crews a flat "piece rate" for each pool, regardless of the number of hours worked. Prestige employees typically worked 60 to 80 hours per week. The law requires overtime pay for all hours over 40 in a work week.

Under terms of the consent judgement, Prestige Gunite will pay $469,000 in back pay, $119,000 in liquidated damages and $20,497 in interest to 66 employees for work during the period August 1996 to last May. The order also stipulates that the company will comply with overtime and record-keeping requirements in the future.

The Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division enforces federal regulations on minimum wage, overtime and child labor; special wage and hour requirements for federal contractors; rules for wage garnishment; the Family and Medical Leave Act; and laws protecting migrant and seasonal farm workers. In addition to its enforcement efforts, the agency provides information and education programs to inform employers of their rights and responsibilities.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.