San Jose fire protection company pays workers $1.3M in back wages, damages after failing to pay for time employees spent on the job

Employer: Cintas Fire Protection Services

Sites: 2188 Del Franco St., #70
San Jose, California

Investigation findings: Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Cintas Fire Protection Services violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when it failed to pay fire sprinkler installers and testers for some hours they worked that were not billable to clients. These hours included time spent sending email, completing reports and submitting timesheets. The division has cited Cintas several times in the past for similar violations at its locations across the nation.

Resolution: Cintas Fire Protection Services will pay $1.3 million in unpaid wages and damages to 81 workers throughout Northern California and an additional $44,500 in civil penalties. The company also has agreed to stringent monitoring to prevent future violations, including:

• Organizing a nationwide compliance team.
• Establishing a hotline for workers to voice their complaints.
• Reserving the right to terminate managers who allow off the clock work to occur.
• Agreeing to conduct rigorous field audits.

Quote: “Cintas shortchanged employees for some hours they worked that could not be billed to clients, despite us explaining the law to them directly in the past,” said Susana Blanco, director of the Wage and Hour Division office in San Francisco. “The results of this investigation should send a strong message about how seriously the Wage and Hour Division takes compliance. Not only will dozens of workers now receive their long overdue wages, but Cintas has also agreed to a series of measures to prevent these types of violations in the future.”

Information: Cintas Fire Protection Services is a subsidiary of Cintas Corp. Headquartered in Cincinnati. Cintas provides more than 900,000 customers with highly specialized products and services such as corporate identity uniform programs; entrance and logo mats; restroom supplies; promotional products; first aid; safety; fire protection products and services; and industrial carpet and tile cleaning. The company operates more than 400 facilities in North America – including six manufacturing plants and eight distribution centers. For more information about federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.