SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday that an Escondido drywall construction contractor has been ordered to pay $790,000 in back wages, damages and penalties after a federal investigation found the employer failed to pay the federally required minimum wage and overtime to 580 workers.
The DOJ says it obtained the consent judgment, which followed a federal investigation into Innovative Wall Systems Inc., operating as Alta Drywall.
According to the press release, investigators found that the employer did not accurately maintain records of hours worked, including pre and post-shift work, travel between job sites or work performed on Saturdays.
Per the DOJ, the employer also failed to pay workers the required overtime rate of time-and-a-half for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek, resulting in Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage and overtime violations.
“This consent judgment and order send a strong message that the Department of Labor will exercise its full enforcement authority when employees are paid well below their legally earned wages,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “The Solicitor’s Office will seek all relief available under the Fair Labor Standards Act when we face employers – like those here – that falsify payroll records to attempt to hide overtime violations.”
Innovative Wall Systems Inc. and CEO Jason Shane Bellamy have been ordered to prevent future FLSA violations and to pay the affected employees $385,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. The employer also must pay a $20,000 civil money penalty for the willful nature of the violations.
