US Labor Department lawsuit alleges Wisconsin landscape service retaliated against 2 employees who filed complaint seeking overtime pay

ARPIN, Wis. — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Carl's Landscape Service Inc. in Arpin, alleging that the company retaliated against two workers for contacting the department's Wage and Hour Division with a complaint about unpaid overtime.

"The law prohibits employers from retaliating against any employee who files a complaint or cooperates in a Wage and Hour investigation," said Theresa Walls, district director for the Wage and Hour Division in Minneapolis. "The Wage and Hour Division will not tolerate willful employee intimidation or coercion and will make use of every tool we have available to ensure that a fair investigation is conducted and workers are protected."

After the company learned of the worker's contact with the Wage and Hour Division, one employee was fired and the second was not called back following a seasonal layoff. A complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against the company and its owner, Darrell Kasner, seeking lost wages for the two employees and an injunction against future retaliation.

Carl's Landscape Service also failed to maintain accurate records of all hours worked and corresponding payroll records.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are, as a general rule, liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees. Additionally, the law requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records, and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

For more information about the FLSA, visit https://www.dol.gov/whd/ or call the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).