Virginia contractor misclassifies employees, will pay $1.2 million

Village Concrete Inc., a Virginia primarily based concrete contractor has been ordered to pay virtually $1.2 million to 81 workers who have been misclassified as impartial contractors, which denied them correctly paid extra time charges. The Division of Labor obtained the consent judgment from the U.S. District Courtroom for the Jap District of Virginia in Alexandria that requires Village Concrete to pay stated workers $563,938 in again wages, an equal quantity in liquid damages, and civil cash penalties of $67,473 for willful violations. 

A number of violations of the Honest Labor Customary Act 

The Division of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigated the claims of misclassification. Along with misclassifying staff, the corporate additionally allegedly falsified data, claiming that extra time had been paid to staff when it wasn’t. Some salaried workers have been wrongly categorized as being exempt from extra time, one other violation of the FLSA.

Workers have been additionally denied pay for distances traveled when it associated to work. Village Concrete didn’t maintain correct data of hours or compensation. Misclassification of workers is prohibited below the FLSA, and it additionally denies staff advantages like employee’s compensation, household go away, taxes, and even secure workplaces. 

Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman stated, “The Wage and Hour Division will proceed to make combatting misclassification a precedence to guard a few of the nation’s most weak staff and their households from the hurt it causes.”

Misclassification of staff a significant issue in lots of industries 

The Division of Labor is addressing the misclassification of staff to make sure all workers obtain the advantages they’re entitled to below the FSLA. The DOL printed guidelines to assist companies accurately classify their group. Employers and workers can use information printed on the web site to find out how they need to be categorised and to make complaints. Misclassifying staff might seemingly get monetary savings for companies, but when staff are wrongly misclassified, it may value a enterprise much more after the DOL investigates.