News Release
US Department of Labor recovers $98K for 39 construction workers denied overtime wages by Jamul employer
SAN DIEGO – While the way a Southern California construction company paid employees the first 40 hours each week complied with the Fair Labor Standards Act, federal investigators found the employer’s overtime pay practices did not.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined J S Plastering Inc. paid overtime hours at straight-time rates, in unrecorded cash, instead of at the time-and-one-half rate the law requires when employees exceed 40 hours in a workweek. J S Plastering employees typically worked overtime on weekends, after working a full 40 hours Monday through Friday.
The investigation led to the division’s recovery of $98,720 in overtime back wages owed to 39 employees and assessment of $25,380 in penalties for the employer’s willful violation of the law.
“Employers who try purposely to avoid paying overtime deny workers’ basic right to get paid properly for all of the hard work they do,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix. “The U.S. Department of Labor will hold violators like J S Plastering accountable and protect law-abiding employers against those who attempt to game the system and gain an unfair competitive advantage.”
Based in Jamul, J S Plastering is a residential and commercial construction company.
For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.
