U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Southern California Garage Door Company Paying $55,764 Owed to 43 Employees

SAN DIEGO, CA – Ziegler Inc. – a Santa Ana, California, garage door supplier – will pay $55,764 owed to 43 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found that Ziegler Inc. paid some workers a piece rate without regard to the number of hours they worked. This practice resulted in minimum wage violations when the piece rate paid failed to cover all the employees’ hours at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Overtime violations resulted when these employees worked more than 40 hours in a work week but were not paid overtime.

Additional overtime violations were found when the employer incorrectly classified some employees as independent contractors and paid them without regard to the number of hours they had worked. Other workers were paid flat salaries without regard to their hours, resulting in more overtime violations when these employees worked more than 40 hours in a week. Additional overtime violations resulted when Ziegler Inc. simply paid some workers straight time rates for overtime hours on the face of the records.

“We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance, and to make use of the many tools we provide to help them understand the law and avoid violations,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Rodolfo Cortez, in San Diego. “This investigation demonstrates the Department of Labor’s commitment to ensuring that workers receive the wages they have legally earned, and that employers compete on a fair and level playing field.”

Ziegler Inc. manufactures custom-made garage doors and gates from its facility in Santa Ana.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.