U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $104,739 for Southern California Pool and Spa Construction Company’s Employees

WEST COVINA, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Pacific Custom Pools Inc. – based in Pasadena, California – will pay $104,739 to 13 employees for overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the employer failed to pay installers overtime at time-and-a-half when they worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek as required by law. Instead, the company held, or “banked,” these hours until a later date when it paid them out as straight-time rates of pay – either during workweeks when employees worked less than 40 hours, or when employees requested that they be paid their banked hours in a lump sum. 

“Employers must pay employees the wages they have legally earned for all the hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Rafael Valles, in West Covina. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to protecting all workers, and will continue to provide education and tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and how to comply with the law.”

Employers that 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 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 the Division.