Contractor for U.S. Postal Service in Southern California Pays $116,513 In Back Wages After U.S. Department of Labor Finds Wage Violations

WEST COVINA, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Fames Transport Inc. – a mail-hauling contractor for the U.S. Postal Service in Southern California – has paid $116,513 in back wages and fringe benefits to 67 employees for violating the Service Contract Act (SCA).

The WHD investigation determined that Fames Transport Inc. failed to pay employees on the contract for all of the hours that they worked. Work performed prior to scheduled shifts, and some work time between routes went unrecorded, and unpaid. This unpaid time led to the employer’s failure to pay required prevailing wages and fringe benefits as required by the SCA. Failure to keep accurate records of the hours employees actually worked resulted in recordkeeping violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“This investigation demonstrates the Department’s commitment to ensuring that employees are paid the wages they have rightfully earned and to leveling the playing field among all employers who do business with the government,” said Wage and Hour Assistant District Director Skarleth Kozlo, in West Covina, California. “We encourage government contractors, and all employers, to use the wide variety of tools we offer to learn about their responsibilities, ensure their pay practices comply with the law, and avoid violations like those found in this case.”

For more information about the FLSA, SCA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).  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 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.