U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in U.S. District Court Ordering Utah Drywall Company to Pay $100,000 in Back Wages and Damages for Labor Law Violations

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – After an investigation by the U.S. Department Of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah has ordered Metal Rock Construction Inc. to pay $50,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 86 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court also entered an injunction prohibiting the company – based in Salt Lake City, Utah – from violating the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the FLSA.

WHD determined Metal Rock Construction Inc.’s payroll records indicated that the employer paid employees a flat rate per job, without regard to the number of hours that they worked. This practice resulted in violations when these employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, yet the employer failed to pay them overtime as required by the FLSA. The company also failed to keep accurate time and payroll records as required by law.

“Employers have an obligation to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting Regional Administrator in the Southwest, Donnette Holder. “When employers fail to do so, the Department will use all the tools at our disposal to pursue corrective action, deter future violations, and prevent an employer from gaining an unfair competitive advantage.”

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Information is also 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.

Case No.:  2:18-cv-00907-JNP