U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Judgment Requiring Texas Contractor To Pay $318,244 to 69 Employees at Two Hawaiian Hotels

HONOLULU, HI – The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a $318,244 consent judgment against Steve Hoegger & Associates Inc. – a general contractor based in Wylie, Texas – for failing to pay overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), at two Hawaii hotels. The settlement follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

Investigators found that the contractor misclassified painters, carpenters, finishers, tile installers and other mechanic tradesmen as independent contractors during renovation work at the Marriott Ko’olina Hotel in Oahu and the Marriott Maui Ocean Club Hotel in Maui. That misclassification led the employer to fail to pay the workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. Hoegger also failed to keep accurate records of the number of hours employees worked.

Entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, the judgment orders Steve Hoegger & Associates Inc. to pay $159,122 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages, to 69 employees who traveled to Hawaii to work on the hotels’ renovations.

“Employers must ensure that employees receive the wages they have legally earned for their work,” said Wage and Hour District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu, Hawaii. “Violations like those found in this investigation can be avoided.”

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 that 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.

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