Permian Basin Community Center to pay workers $69,000 in back wages
The Permian Basin Community Centers for Mental Health and Mental Retardation was recently investigated by the Department of Labor and found in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime provisions.
When the DOL's Wage and Hour Division investigated three of the company's facilities, the Early Childhood Intervention Center, the Turning Point Treatment Center and the Mental Health Services/Adult Day Care center in Odessa, Texas, it discovered employees were being misclassified as exempt workers.
"This company wrongly classified employees as exempt from overtime requirements to avoid paying them the wages they had earned," said Cynthia Watson, the regional administrator for the Southwest Wage and Hour Division.
As a result, the company has agreed to pay 78 intake specialists, rehab providers and early intervention workers with $68,990 in back wages for unpaid overtime. Nurses, specialists and pharmacists must meet certain criteria established by the FLSA to qualify for an exemption. For example, they must be paid a salary of no less than $455 per week and their primary job duties must require advanced knowledge.
To avoid a similar violation that could result in fines and back wages, employer can use human resource outsourcing to reduce liability and ensure correct classification.
When the DOL's Wage and Hour Division investigated three of the company's facilities, the Early Childhood Intervention Center, the Turning Point Treatment Center and the Mental Health Services/Adult Day Care center in Odessa, Texas, it discovered employees were being misclassified as exempt workers.
"This company wrongly classified employees as exempt from overtime requirements to avoid paying them the wages they had earned," said Cynthia Watson, the regional administrator for the Southwest Wage and Hour Division.
As a result, the company has agreed to pay 78 intake specialists, rehab providers and early intervention workers with $68,990 in back wages for unpaid overtime. Nurses, specialists and pharmacists must meet certain criteria established by the FLSA to qualify for an exemption. For example, they must be paid a salary of no less than $455 per week and their primary job duties must require advanced knowledge.
To avoid a similar violation that could result in fines and back wages, employer can use human resource outsourcing to reduce liability and ensure correct classification.
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