U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Texas Roofing Company Paying $101,832 in Back Wages

GALVESTON, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Morgan Roofing LLC – based in Galveston, Texas – has paid $101,832 in back wages to 28 employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements.

WHD investigators found the roofing contractor and sheet metal fabricator violated FLSA overtime requirements when it misclassified its employees as independent contractors and paid them flat rates per day, without regard to the number of hours they worked. This practice resulted in violations when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but were not paid overtime. WHD also determined the employer paid some hourly workers straight time for all they hours they worked, failing to pay them overtime for hours beyond 40 per workweek. The law requires employers to pay time-and-one-half an employee’s regular rate of pay for hours the employee works over 40 in a workweek. Morgan Roofing also violated FLSA recordkeeping provisions when it failed to keep required time and payroll records.

“This employer denied these employees the wages they rightfully and legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Robin Mallett in Houston, Texas. “Employers are responsible for paying employees for all the hours they work, and for tracking those hours accurately to determine when overtime is due. Simply labeling someone as an independent contractor does not absolve the employer of this responsibility. This investigation should remind all employers to examine their pay practices to ensure they comply with the law.”

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, electronic toolkits, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

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 laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool for workers who 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 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 U.S.; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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