Winter Haven, Florida, Roofing Contractor Pays $60,098 in Wages And Damages After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

WINTER HAVEN, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) into rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Residential Investment Group – operating as RIG Construction and Roofing – paid $60,098 in back wages and liquidated damages to 43 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the Winter Haven, Florida-based roofing contractor paid employees piece-rate wages, without regard to the number of hours they actually worked. This practice resulted in violations because the employer failed to pay employees overtime for any hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek. WHD also found recordkeeping violations when the employer failed to maintain daily and weekly records of the number of hours employees worked.

“Employers are obligated to pay their employees the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt, in Tampa. “Even if employees are paid piece rates, or on salaries, they are typically still due overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week. The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to ensure employees are being paid correctly.”

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/agencies/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.