U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Southern California Security Company Paying 63 Employees for Overtime Violations

SAN DIEGO, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Star Pro Security Patrol Inc. – a security company based in Costa Mesa, California – will pay $43,566 to 63 employees for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found Star Pro Security Patrol Inc. paid employees on a semi-monthly basis and sometimes failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a single workweek, as the law requires. Regardless of the length of an employer's pay period, they must track overtime worked on a weekly basis under the FLSA. Investigators also found the employer classified some employees incorrectly as exempt from overtime, resulting in additional violations when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a week yet were not paid overtime.

"Employees must be paid the wages required by law for all the time that they work," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Rodolfo Cortez, in San Diego, California. "All overtime hours also must be accurately recorded and paid. We urge all employers to use the tools we offer to help them understand their rights and responsibilities under the law."

WHD provides employers with compliance assistance resources related to overtime to help them comply with the FLSA. 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). 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 www.dol.gov/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

WHD's mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act, and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.