U.S. Department of Labor Recovers Back Wages For Property Managers, Maintenance Workers in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Carland Properties LLC – based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – has paid $23,066 in overtime back wages to four property managers and maintenance workers to resolve violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators found the employer paid the employees flat salaries regardless of the number of hours they worked per workweek. This practice resulted in violations when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but the employer failed to pay them overtime. The employees did not meet the requirements for exemption from the FLSA’s overtime requirements. Carland Properties LLC also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements when they failed to keep required records of the number of hours employees actually worked. The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time-and-one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

“Simply giving employees a certain job title or paying them a salary does not necessarily mean they are not entitled to overtime,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Speer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. “This investigation should serve as an opportunity for other employers to examine their payroll practices to ensure they are in compliance. We encourage employers to contact us with any questions about their responsibilities under federal labor laws.”  

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, or confidential calls to local WHD offices.

Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by the division.

The mission of WHD 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 McNamara-O'Hara 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.