Phoenix contractor to pay workers over $740K in back wages, damages

PHOENIX – A Phoenix electrical contractor was ordered to pay employees $742,082 in back wages and damages after a federal investigation.

The Department of Labor said Monday that IES Residential denied 255 workers overtime pay and falsified records in a “willful disregard of labor laws.”

IES Residential was also fined $20,000 in civil penalties.

The federal agency said IES Residential restricted overtime at eight hours, even though some workers were spending 60 hours a week on the job.

The company instructed workers to put down 40 hours per week when filling out a timesheet unless overtime was preapproved. Some workers logged as many as 23 hours of overtime a week, the Labor Department said.

The company’s actions are violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the department said.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will hold employers accountable for wage theft, particularly in cases like this one, where IES Residential deliberately attempted to evade the law by instructing employees to falsify timesheets to avoid paying overtime wages,” Eric Murray, wage and hour division district director in Phoenix, said in a press release.

IES Residential is a subsidiary of IES Holdings Inc., one of the nation’s largest electrical, HVAC and plumbing, solar and cable installation contractors, according to the release.

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