U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Florida Lawn Care Service Paying $55,345 in Back Wages

KISSIMMEE, FL – PPM Outdoor LLC, a lawn care company based in Kissimmee, Florida, has paid $55,345 to 40 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined that PPM Outdoor LLC – doing business as Prime Lawn Care Service – violated the FLSA's overtime requirements when they paid hourly workers for their overtime hours at straight-time rates in separate checks. The employer also inaccurately considered the foremen to be exempt from overtime requirements, paying them flat salaries without regard to the number of hours that they worked. By doing so, the employer violated FLSA overtime regulations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a week and received no additional payment and, in one case, committed a minimum wage violation when an employee worked so many hours that the salary failed to cover the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

"Simply paying workers a salary does not exclude them from overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week," said Daniel White, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Jacksonville. "We encourage all employers to use the tools the Department of Labor offers to learn about their responsibilities and to avoid violations. Our work continues to level the playing field for law-abiding employers."

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). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.