California Flooring Contractor to Pay $150,505 in Back Wages and Penalties For Overtime Violations Found by U.S. Department of Labor

WEST COVINA, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Genesis Floor Covering Inc. – a flooring contractor in Santa Fe Springs, California – will pay $99,624 to 73 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. The employer will also pay $50,881 in penalties assessed due to the willful nature of the violations.

The investigation found Genesis Floor Covering Inc. failed to pay employees for all of their overtime hours at time and a half their regular hourly rates. Instead, the employer paid for workers’ first 10 hours of overtime at time and a half, but paid for any additional overtime hours in cash, at straight time, off the books. The lack of accurate records reflecting the cash payments also resulted in FLSA recordkeeping violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that employers pay workers all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Assistant District Director Gayane Aleksanian in West Covina, California. “Our work also levels the playing field for employers that play by the rules. We encourage other employers to review their own pay practices to ensure they comply with the law, and avoid overtime violations like those found in this case.” 

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 and confidential calls 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.

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 paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, 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.