Beyond fines: DOL takes rare step against FLSA violator

by Jared Bilski

If the thought of the DOL hitting firms with high fines and penalties for FLSA violations doesn’t scare you, maybe the prospect of being hit with additional administrative work will.

That’s what happened to one firm after the DOL uncovered a series of particularly egregious pay violations.

According to a recent DOL investigation, Colmonero’s Pallets Inc., a pallet manufacturing firm in Phoenix, had a real knack for skirting major FLSA requirements, specifically those involving the law’s recordkeeping provisions, in an effort to avoid paying overtime.

The DOL claimed the company:

• Paid employees as vendors who only received a flat rate
• Doling out under-the-table cash payment instead of time-and-a-half
• Distributing checks under false names to avoid paying overtime, and
• Destroying employees’ timecards at the end of each pay period.

$300K in wages and damages plus …

When the DOL completed its investigation, Colmonero’s was ordered to pay $139,154 in back wages, an equal amount in damages and an additional $21,692 because of the willful nature of the violations.

But the agency didn’t stop there.

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