US Department of Labor recovers more than $1.5M in back wages, damages for 430 HVAC technicians misclassified by Dallas-area company

DALLAS – In one of the largest recoveries of its kind, the U.S. Department of Labor has recouped more than $1.5 million in unpaid overtime wages and damages from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning company that deprived 430 technicians of their rights, protections and benefits under law by misclassifying them as independent contractors.

The recovery follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found C&G HVAC LLC in Dallas owed the affected technicians $756,158 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. 

“C&G HVAC denied these technicians their full wages, hurt taxpayers by not paying related payroll taxes and gained an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competition,” explained Wage and Hour Division’s Southwest Regional Administrator Betty Campbell in Dallas. “These employees, who do essential work installing, maintaining and repairing cooling systems in North Texas, stand to collect thousands of dollars in back wages and damages owed to them for their hard work.”

Preventing employee misclassification has been a Wage and Hour Division priority as the improper employment practice deprives workers of their rights to minimum wage, overtime pay and other protections. 

In fiscal year 2023, the division recovered over $24.5 million in back wages for about 20,000 misclassified workers nationwide. In Texas, the division recovered $2.2 million for 5,100 misclassified workers. 

“The Wage and Hour Division will take decisive action when employees are misclassified as independent contractors. C&G HVAC has learned there are significant consequences for violating the rights of their employees and failing to comply with federal law,” Campbell added. “We encourage other employers to take note of this case’s outcome and to ensure that they are affording their employees the minimum wage and overtime pay they are entitled to under the law.” 

Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act requires an analysis of the economic realities of the worker’s relationship with the employer. 

Established in 2017, C&G HVAC LLC in Dallas provides heating, ventilation and air conditioning repair services in North Texas.

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 and employers can call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. Calls are confidential and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. 

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices, now available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.