3 companies, 2 in Arizona, ordered to pay employees $394K in back wages
Aug 13, 2018, 7:35 PM | Updated: Aug 14, 2018, 1:32 pm
PHOENIX — Three companies, including two in Arizona, were ordered to pay employees nearly $400,000 in back wages and liquidated damages following a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Labor, it was announced Monday.
The national staffing agency Employer Solutions Staffing Group LLC and Arizona staffing agencies TBG Logistics LLC and Countrywide Payroll & HR Solutions Inc. will pay $394,438 to more than 120 employees.
In addition, the department also assessed $15,000 in civil money penalties to TBG Logistics for the “willful nature of the violations found.”
The lawsuit, which was filed by the department’s Office of the Solicitor, aimed to punish the companies for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and recover the unpaid back wages and liquidated damages.
It argued that the logistics company and the staffing agencies were engaged in a pay scheme to avoid the payment of overtime.
Investigators found that the employers paid straight time for all hours worked, including for hours worked in excess of 40 in a work week.
“This litigation and the investigation demonstrate the U.S. Department of Labor’s commitment to ensuring that workers receive the wages they have legally earned, and that employers compete on a fair and level playing field,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray said in a statement.
“We encourage employers to reach out to their Wage and Hour Division district office for information about how to comply, and to make use of the many resources and tools we offer to be in compliance and avoid violations.”
U.S. Senior District Judge Roslyn O. Silver in Phoenix entered judgment against Employer Solutions Staffing Group LLC last month for $157,036.
Silver also rejected the company’s argument that “as a large employer, it could not be expected to monitor every paycheck it processes.”
She said Employer Solutions Staffing Group LLC’s failure to pay overtime was willful because “an employer must comply with the FLSA no matter how large it is or how many payroll transactions it processes.”
TBG Logistics LLC and Countrywide Payroll & HR Solutions Inc. previously settled with the U.S. Secretary of Labor and agreed to pay a total of $237,402.