Central Florida Roofing Company Pays $75,710 in Wages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

TARPON SPRINGS, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Arry's Roofing Services Inc. – a roofing company based in Tarpon Springs, Florida – has paid $75,710 in back wages to 144 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined Arry's Roofing Services Inc. failed to include production bonuses paid to roofers in the calculation when determining those employees' overtime rates. By excluding these amounts and basing overtime only on the employees' hourly rates, the employer paid overtime at rates lower than those required by law. Investigators also found the employer incorrectly classified salaried office employees as exempt from overtime, and paid them flat salaries without regard to the number of hours they actually worked. In doing so, Arry's Roofing violated FLSA requirements when it failed to pay overtime when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also violated the FLSA's recordkeeping requirements when it failed to keep time records for the non-exempt salaried employees.

"Employers must familiarize themselves with their obligations to ensure they pay workers the wages they have legally earned," said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt, in Tampa, Florida. "The U.S. Department of Labor encourages employers to contact us if they have questions about overtime compliance for their hourly and salaried employees. We offer a wide variety of compliance assistance tools and stand ready to help employers. Violations like those found in this case can be avoided."

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

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). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.