U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in San Francisco Auto Insurer Paying $110,730 to 13 Employees for Overtime Violations

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Go Maps Inc. – an Internet-based car insurance company headquartered in San Francisco, California–has paid $110,730 in back wages and liquidated damages to 13 employees for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found Go Maps Inc. - which does business as Go - paid sales agents a fixed salary for the hours that they worked, without regard to whether they exceeded 40 in a workweek, resulting in overtime violations. Some employees worked 60 hours per week on average, and as many as 70 hours during some periods. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements by failing to maintain payroll and daily time records for employees throughout the investigative period.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have legally earned for all the hours they have worked – including legally required overtime,” said District Director Susana Blanco, in San Jose, California. “Investigations like this ensure that employees get paid and that employers compete on a level playing field.”

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. In addition, WHD provides employers with compliance assistance resources related to overtime to help them comply with the FLSA.

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/agencies/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.

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.