US Department of Labor recovers $127K in back wages, damages for 26 maintenance workers denied overtime by Dothan employer

DOTHAN, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $127,249 in back wages and liquidated damages for 26 workers at an aviation maintenance shop employed by a Dothan staffing company that misclassified them as independent contractors and denied overtime wages. 

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Lucero Aerospace Staffing Solutions LLC paid workers straight-time rates for all hours and failed to pay the additional half-time rate required for hours over 40 in a workweek. In addition, the employer failed to pay one worker at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

“Employers are legally obligated to pay and classify their workers correctly and to keep accurate records of all time worked by these individuals,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kenneth Stripling in Birmingham, Alabama. “Misclassification deprives workers of their full wages, benefits and protections, cheats law-abiding employers and harms communities when payroll taxes are not paid.”

In Alabama, the division has recovered more than $513,868 waiting to be claimed for 1,476 workers and offers a workers owed wages search tool that people can use to see if they are owed back wages collected by the agency. Workers who feel they may not be getting the wages they earned or are misclassified as independent contractors may contact a Wage and Hour Division representative in their state through a list and interactive online map on the agency’s website. 

Workers and employers can contact the division confidentially at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243). The division also offers online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act overtime pay requirements. Workers and employers can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android or iOS Timesheet App for free and available in English and Spanish. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.