Powerhouse Retail Services, a construction company based out of Crowley, Texas, was recently investigated by the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The evaluation revealed the employer was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage, overtime and record keeping requirements. As a result, the employer has agreed to pay 171 employees $60,448 in back wages.

Employees received a flat salary that did not always meet minimum wage for all of their hours worked, the investigators found. Moreover, employees were misclassified as exempt workers so they weren't owed overtime pay (time-and-a-half their regular rate).

"The construction industry employs some of our nation’s most vulnerable workers," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the division in the Southwest. "Employees worked as many as 58 hours in a week without receiving overtime pay. This practice is illegal and unacceptable."

Following the investigation, Powerhouse agreed to bring its payroll practices into compliance with the FLSA's provisions. To prevent future violations and avoid surprise visits from the Wage and Hour Division, businesses can ensure they are properly compensating workers with a payroll processing system that calculates rates for both regular and overtime employee attendance.

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