It's crucial for employers to follow provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if they want to avoid investigations by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which can result in back wages and penalties. During these inquiries, any non-compliant practices regarding recordkeeping, minimum wage or overtime payments can result in the Wage and Hour Division filing lawsuits or seeking damages.

Ultimately, these oversights can be much costlier than paying workers the wages they were owed for their time and attendance in the first place. Companies within the industries that are commonly cited for violations might need to be especially careful in order to avoid investigation, since the DOL is often on the lookout for problematic practices.

The latest totals released were from 2008, when the DOL collected $140.2 million in back pay for minimum wage and overtime cases involving 197,000 employees. Many of these were in low-paying positions, including agriculture, daycare facilities, restaurants, guard services, garment manufacturing, janitorial work, healthcare and hospitality environments, such as hotels and motels.

Employers can avoid common violations for overtime and minimum wage by ensuring all of their employees are paid at least $7.25 per hour, or the applicable state standard, and time-and-a-half for any work time past 40 hours in a week. 

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