U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $120,869 for 32 Employees Of Tempe, Arizona, Company to Resolve Wage Violations

PHOENIX, AZ – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Sound Image – a audio, visual and lighting installation company in Tempe, Arizona – has paid 32 employees $120,860 in back wages and liquidated damages for violating overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found that Sound Image failed to pay installers overtime at the required time-and-one-half when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid workers flat rates per day, without regard to their weekly total of hours worked.

"Employers have an obligation to understand and comply with the labor laws applicable to their businesses," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray, in Phoenix. "The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to protecting all working Americans, and will continue to provide education and tools to employers to help them 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.