U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Houston Pool Builder Paying $55,560 in Overtime, Minimum Wages and Damages

HOUSTON, TX – Pool Works LLC has paid $27,780 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 60 employees to settle overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

WHD investigators found that the company paid drivers, finishers, and laborers a piece rate without regard to the number of hours they actually worked. Minimum wage violations resulted when this piece rate failed to meet at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Overtime violations resulted when employees worked beyond 40 hours per week and the employer continued to pay only the piece rates, with no overtime.  The company also paid flat salaries to warehouse and yard employees, creating similar violations when those employees worked overtime without any additional payment for the hours they worked past 40 per week.

In addition, Pool Works LLC violated the FLSA’s recordkeeping provisions when it failed to record time employees spent traveling between job sites, or working at the employer’s establishment prior to traveling to worksites.

“The resolution of this case puts these wages into the hands of those who earned them, and demonstrates how our enforcement levels the playing field for law-abiding employers,” said Wage and Hour Division Houston District Director Robin Mallett. “Employers can avoid wage violations by reaching out to us for assistance to ensure they are in compliance with the law.”

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).