The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division recently investigated Austin Industrial Inc., a contractor based in La Porte Texas that performs maintenance and construction work for the Phillips 66 Inc. oil and gas refinery. Investigators allege they found time and attendance violations resulting from the employer's failure to pay non-exempt employees for overtime work. 

Although the company offered to pay employees on a salary basis when they were hired, it didn't follow through on that commitment, the DOL's representatives allege. Instead, workers' wages were docked if they didn't put 40 hours on the clock every week and they were paid on an hourly basis. However, they weren't issued any additional compensation if they worked more than 40 hours in a single workweek. And they were in fact required to work more than 50 hours per week on a regular basis, investigators said. 

The DOL seeks out employers who are not properly paying employees for their work, and enforce Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations by asking companies to issue back wages for lost compensation while also bringing payroll practices into compliance. In the case of Austin Industrial, the 13 affected employees were paid a total of $214,398 for their overtime. 

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