U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Arizona Plumbing Contractor Paying $29,753 to Resolve Wage Violations

PHOENIX, AZ – Sierra Verde Plumbing LLC – based in Phoenix, Arizona – will pay $29,753 in total back wages and liquidated damages to six employees after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the employer violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Additionally, WHD assessed the employer $5,184 in civil penalties.

WHD investigators determined the plumbing contractor paid some employees on a piece rate basis and erroneously classified some employees as independent contractors, failing to pay these employees overtime rates when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Sierra Verde Plumbing also failed to maintain a complete and accurate record of the number of hours worked by employees, resulting in recordkeeping violations under the FLSA.

“Simply paying employees on a piece-rate or a flat weekly basis does not necessarily exempt them from overtime pay when they work over 40 hours in a week,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray, in Phoenix. “Employers must pay their employees all the wages they legally earned. We urge all employers to make use of the many tools the Department provides to help them understand and comply with the law, and to call us for assistance.”

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 Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.