U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Northern California Medical Transport Company Paying Employees $147,416 for Overtime Violations

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), American West Medical Transport – a northern California non-emergency medical transport company – will pay $147,416 in back wages to 36 employees for violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found American West Medical Transport paid drivers flat salaries, without regard to the number of hours they worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay them overtime when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, as required. Additional violations occurred when the employer paid hourly workers straight-time rates for their overtime hours. The Elk Grove, California-based employer also failed to record the total number of hours employees actually worked accurately, a violation of FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

"Simply because a pay practice appears to be common within an industry does not necessarily mean that it complies with the law," said Wage and Hour Assistant District Director Nora Pedraza, in Sacramento, California. "The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to educating employers and improving compliance to ensure workers receive the wages they have earned and that employers compete on a level playing field. Violations like those found in this investigation can be avoided."

American West Medical Transport provides non-emergency medical transportation in and around the greater Sacramento and San Jose areas.

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 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.