Village Concrete Inc., a Virginia based concrete contractor has been ordered to pay almost $1.2 million to 81 employees who were misclassified as independent contractors, which denied them properly paid overtime rates. The Department of Labor obtained the consent judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria that requires Village Concrete to pay said employees $563,938 in back wages, an equal amount in liquid damages, and civil money penalties of $67,473 for willful violations.
Multiple violations of the Fair Labor Standard Act
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigated the claims of misclassification. In addition to misclassifying workers, the company also allegedly falsified records, claiming that overtime had been paid to workers when it wasn’t. Some salaried employees were wrongly categorized as being exempt from overtime, another violation of the FLSA.
Employees were also denied pay for distances traveled when it related to work. Village Concrete did not keep accurate records of hours or compensation. Misclassification of employees is prohibited under the FLSA, and it also denies workers benefits like worker’s compensation, family leave, taxes, and even safe workplaces.
Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said, “The Wage and Hour Division will continue to make combatting misclassification a priority to protect some of the nation’s most vulnerable workers and their families from the harm it causes.”
Misclassification of workers a serious problem in many industries
The Department of Labor is addressing the misclassification of workers to ensure all employees receive the benefits they are entitled to under the FSLA. The DOL published guidelines to help businesses correctly classify their team. Employers and employees can use information published on the website to determine how they should be classified and to make complaints. Misclassifying workers may seemingly save money for businesses, but if workers are wrongly misclassified, it could cost a business a lot more after the DOL investigates.