Tennessee Management Company Pays $45,378 for Overtime Violations Found by U.S. Department of Labor in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina

NASHVILLE, TN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Accelerated Learning Solutions Inc. – a school management company based in Nashville, Tennessee – has paid $45,378 in back wages to 59 employees for violating the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD determined Accelerated Learning Solutions Inc. – operating as ALS Education - classified data specialists, executive assistants, enrollment specialists, and enrollment administrative specialists incorrectly as exempt from the FLSA's overtime requirements, paying them flat weekly salaries without regard to the number of hours that they actually worked. This practice resulted in violations of the FLSA when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but the employer did not pay employees overtime in addition to those salaries. WHD also found ALS Education violated recordkeeping requirements when they failed to record accurately the number of hours employees worked.

"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that all employees receive the wages they have legally earned for all the hours they have worked," said Wage and Hour District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville. The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to confirm that workers are being paid as the law prescribes, and that we will continue to work to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules."

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 WHD, 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.

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 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, 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.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.