An industrial services employment agency has agreed to pay $1,916,850 in back wages to over 2,000 employees assigned to client work sites throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with
customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!An investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that Hutco Inc. allegedly utilized improper pay and recordkeeping practices that resulted in employees being denied overtime compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
“Temporary employment arrangements can make the worker-employer relationship difficult for workers to understand,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, acting deputy administrator of the WHD. “As a result, temporary workers face the risk of not being treated as employees in terms of the wages and legal protections guaranteed under federal law. The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting them, and continues to reach out to stakeholders and state agencies to help ensure that employers who utilize contingent work arrangements do so in compliance with all applicable laws.”
An investigation of the company's headquarters in Lafayette, Louisiana, disclosed systemic overtime violations throughout six branch establishments. The company allegedly mischaracterized certain wages as “per diem” payments and excluded these wages when calculating overtime premiums, thereby denying employees earned overtime compensation. This improper pay practice also resulted in FLSA recordkeeping violations involving the accuracy of employees’ wages and actual hours worked.
Under the settlement, in addition to paying back wages, Hutco has also committed to future compliance with the law.
Payment of back wages is ongoing. This case also has been referred to the Louisiana Workforce Commission for review.