U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Indianapolis Building Contractor Paying $98,236 in Overtime Back Wages to 112 Employees

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JLBS Construction, a construction company based in Indianapolis, Indiana, will pay $98,236 in overtime back wages to 112 employees, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that found the employer had violated overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  

WHD investigators determined JLBS Construction ­­– which operates as J.L. Building Solutions ­­– failed to pay employees overtime at time-and-one-half their regular rates when they worked beyond 40 hours in a work week. The company instead paid straight time rates regardless of the number of hours employees had worked.

“Often times our investigators find that employers believe they are correctly compensating employees based on false information and pay practices in certain industries that are illegal. In this case, the company took immediate action to fix its pay practices,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance to ensure they understand their obligations under the law, and to make use of the many tools we provide to help them.”

In addition to paying the back wages, J.L. Building Solutions hired a human resources officer to ensure compliance with wage laws in the future.

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 Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.