Fort Lauderdale HVAC contractor pays $20K in back wages to 18 employees as US Department of Labor finds overtime violations

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – A Fort Lauderdale heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor has paid $20,547 in back wages to 18 employees after a federal investigation found the employer failed to pay workers overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators determined Fuss Free AC LLC – operating as Fuss Free AC and Appliances – violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. The employer failed to record and pay employees for all of the hours that they worked, resulting in overtime violations in workweeks of more than 40 hours. Fuss Free AC also paid two workers flat weekly salaries regardless of the number of hours they actually worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay overtime as the law requires when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain payroll records as required by the FLSA.

“Employers must pay their workers all of their hard-earned wages for all of the hours they have worked,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Lesbia Rodriguez, in Miami. “Other employers should use the results of this investigation as an opportunity to review their own pay practices. The U.S. Department of Labor will continue working to level the playing field for employers that play by the rules, and to ensure workers get paid the wages they have legally earned.”

The division 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 Wage and Hour Division offices. Learn more about the FLSA. Contact the Wage and Hour Division toll-free at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) for more information.