US Department of Labor recovers $289K in back wages, damages, penalties after investigation found Maryland employers denied workers overtime wages

Employer names:     

Stark Truss Baltimore LLC, 1200 E. Patapsco Ave., Baltimore, MD 21225

Jordi Construction LLC, 6706 Coolridge Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined the two companies entered into an “employee lease agreement,” for which Jordi Construction provided leased workers to augment Stark Truss Baltimore’s workforce. Division investigators found that once “leased” employees worked 40 hours in a workweek for Jordi Construction at Stark Truss Baltimore’s worksite, they were directed to work additional hours under Stark Truss Baltimore. This arrangement led to the joint employers willfully paying affected employees straight time instead of the required overtime premium for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Under the FLSA, an employee may have –in addition to their employer – one or more joint employers. Joint employment applies when an employee is employed by two or more employers such that the employers are responsible, both individually and jointly, for compliance with federal labor laws.

Back wages/liquidated damages recovered:  $135,124 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Civil money penalty: $19,522

Workers affected: 42

Quote: “These employers illegally used their employee lease agreement to intentionally avoid paying overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Linamarie Martinez in Hyattsville. “The division will hold companies accountable when they don’t meet their obligations under the law.”

Background: Stark Truss is a manufacturer and supplier of components for the construction industry and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio. Jordi Construction is a residential construction contractor specializing in framing.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the division enforces, contact its 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. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.