Michigan Residential Care Facility to Pay $173,787 In Overtime Back Wages and Damages to 52 Employees

STERLING HEIGHTS, MI – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Integrated Living Inc. – based in Sterling Heights, Michigan – will pay $173,787 in back wages and liquidated damages to 52 current and former employees for violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at the Michigan residential care facility.

Investigators determined the company paid its hourly home managers a reduced rate when they worked more than 50 hours in a workweek. Managers received their normal hourly rates for all the hours they worked up to 50 per week, but then received a lower rate for any additional hours. This resulted in the managers receiving overtime rates lower than those required by law for the hours they worked.

"Employers have an obligation to understand and to comply with the labor laws applicable to their businesses," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell, in Detroit. "Arbitrarily lowering employees' pay after they reach a specified number of hours shorts the workers and creates an unfair advantage for the employer over those who comply with the law. The Wage and Hour Division encourages employers to reach out to us for assistance to ensure they understand their obligations, and to make use of the many tools we provide to help them."

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