U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in South Florida ServPro Franchisee Paying $201,508 in Back Wages

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Restoration Management 2013 Inc. – operating as ServPro in Boynton Beach, Florida – has paid $201,508 in back wages to 141 employees for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the restoration and remediation company violated FLSA overtime requirements when the employer paid employees straight-time rates, in cash, for all the hours that they worked. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, but the employer failed to pay overtime. Additional violations occurred when the employer automatically deducted time from some employees’ timecards for meal breaks, even when they worked through their breaks. The employer also failed to maintain accurate payroll records and failed to display an FLSA poster, both violations of FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

“Employers are required to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned for all the hours that they work,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tony Pham, in Miami, Florida. “Our work continues to ensure that employees are paid as the law requires, and that employers compete on a level playing field. We encourage all employers to review their pay practices and their legal obligations and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

The Wage and Hour Division encourages employees who may be owed back pay and worked for ServPro from March 2017 to February 2019, to contact the Division’s Miami District Office at 305-598-6607.

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.