Express Delivery Company to Pay $597,000 in Back Wages to 224 Drivers In Connecticut and New Jersey After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

PHILADELPHIA, PA – LaserShip Inc. – a delivery company based in Vienna, Virginia – has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor requiring payment of $597,000 in back wages to 224 employees in Connecticut and New Jersey. 

Investigations conducted by the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) exposed minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at LaserShip's facilities in Meriden, Connecticut, and East Brunswick, New Jersey.

WHD investigators determined that from March 20, 2014 through July 21, 2017 at its Meriden location, and April 2, 2016 through August 11, 2017 at its East Brunswick location, the employer improperly classified its courier drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, depriving certain drivers of FLSA protections. Drivers were responsible for paying for certain job-related expenses, including auto insurance, cargo insurance, scanners and gasoline, resulting in some employees earning less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for each hour that they worked. The employer also failed to pay drivers overtime at one-and-one half-times their regular rates when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, as required by the FLSA. Additionally, the employer failed to pay New Jersey courier drivers who performed work in the warehouse for the time they spent doing so, resulting in unpaid overtime.

"By improperly classifying its drivers, LaserShip Inc. denied these employees the wages they rightfully and legally earned," said Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator Mark Watson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "The Wage and Hour Division works to ensure that employees are aware of their rights, and helps employers understand their obligations and to come into compliance with the law. Violations like those in this case can be avoided."

WHD's Hartford, Connecticut, and Southern New Jersey district offices conducted the investigations. Boston Wage and Hour Counsel Mark Pedulla, and Senior Trial Attorneys Susan Salzberg and James Wong, of the Department's Boston and New York regional solicitor's offices, respectively, negotiated the settlement agreement.

WHD is committed to providing employers with the tools they need to assist them in fulfilling their obligation to understand and comply with the variety of laws the Division enforces. 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 wage laws, call the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.