U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $53,841 in Back Wages for Florida Beauty Supply Retailer’s Employees After Finding Wage Violations

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Classy Beauty Supply Inc. – based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – will pay $53,841 in back wages to 10 employees to resolve minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the employer – which operates as Classy Girl Beauty Supply – violated overtime requirements when it paid some employees for their first 40 hours each workweek on the payroll, but paid for additional hours in cash, at straight time rates, failing to pay overtime at time-and-one-half workers’ regular rates of pay. Additional overtime violations occurred when the employer paid other employees unrecorded cash for all of their hours, including overtime hours, at straight time rates.

“Employers must pay their employees all of the wages they have earned for all of the hours they have worked, including overtime when they work beyond 40 hours in a workweek,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Lesbia Rodriguez in Miami, Florida. “The U.S. Department of Labor will continue working to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for compliance assistance and for help understanding their obligations to their employees.”

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 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.