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BUSINESS

Court orders Glendale company to pay more than $700K in back wages

Labor Department wage investigation finds company paid piece rates, falsified wages records

Posted 3/21/23

The U.S. Department of Labor is distributing more than $700,000 in back wages and damages to 470 employees, recovered from a Glendale plastering company following an investigation and lawsuit related to the employer’s pay practices.

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BUSINESS

Court orders Glendale company to pay more than $700K in back wages

Labor Department wage investigation finds company paid piece rates, falsified wages records

Posted

The U.S. Department of Labor is distributing more than $700,000 in back wages and damages to 470 employees, recovered from a Glendale plastering company following an investigation and lawsuit related to the employer’s pay practices.

In January, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona entered a consent judgment that requires Palo Verde Plastering Inc. to pay overtime back wages and liquidated damages to affected employees. The employer paid workers “by the yard,” denied them overtime and repeatedly told them they were not entitled to it, and falsified their books by assigning wages earned to “phantom” employees to avoid paying overtime, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The action follows a 2021 investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that began with a review of the company’s payroll records. Palo Verde Plastering Inc. violated federal law by paying employees straight time for hours over 40 in a workweek that should have been paid an overtime premium rate, the U.S. Department of Labor reports. Investigators also found the company did not maintain accurate pay records, as required.

After their initial findings, investigators alleged the employer agreed to pay hourly wages and overtime in November 2021, but then continued to violate the law until at least March 2022.

The court also affirmed $23,787 in civil money penalties assessed by the department to Palo Verde Plastering for its willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The court order also requires Palo Verde to change its payroll practices to comply with federal recordkeeping regulations; update its timekeeping system and immediately comply with the FLSA; hire a third party to conduct training for all of supervisors, managers and others with payroll duties on federal requirements; and amend its corporate handbook and provide FLSA information to all employees.

“Hundreds of workers – many who worked on new home construction in Maricopa County – will now receive unpaid wages and damages, ranging from $42 to more than $7,000 per worker,” Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Murray in Phoenix stated in a news release. “The Wage and Hour Division encourages workers to contact us if they believe their employer is not paying them all of their earned wages.”

Current or former Palo Verde Plastering employees can contact the division’s Phoenix District Office confidentially and regardless of immigrations status for more information by phone at 602-407-5323, or email at whdvm.phoenixvwp@dol.gov.