A Florida plastic recycler will pay $424,537 in back wages in an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division.
An investigation by the department’s Jacksonville District Office found Ravago Americas LLC, based in Orlando, FL, failed to pay overtime and violated recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to the DOL, the employer paid employees fixed salaries, based on a 40-hour workweek, regardless to how many hours they actually worked. The investigation found that when employees worked before their shifts, after their shifts, during meal breaks and/or at home, the hours were not recorded or paid for. Ravago also failed to maintain required time and payroll records, according to the DOL.
“Simply paying an employee a salary does not necessarily mean the employee is not entitled to overtime,” said Daniel White, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Jacksonville. “Restoring these wages, and getting this company to pay in compliance with the law going forward, will make a meaningful difference in the quality of life for these workers and their families. Other businesses, who may be paying in the same manner, should take note. Workers who are being paid straight time for overtime should give us a call.”
In its agreement with DOL, the company has agreed to pay $424,537 in back wages to 195 employees and comply with the FLSA; install an accurate time-keeping system to capture daily start and end times of employees; include an accurate record of hours worked on pay stubs for all nonexempt personnel; perform enterprise-wide training with all managers and employees on proper clock in/out procedures on installed time-keeping system, employee rights regarding compensable and non-compensable time and proper procedures to correct inaccurate payroll caused by a time-keeping error.