The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division cited Las Vegas, Nev.-based Royal West Drywall for overtime violations. The residential drywall and paint company will pay $133,007 in back wages to 233 employees for violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to an agency news release.
Agency investigators determined the company paid drywall installers and painters a piece rate according to the amount of product they installed, without regard to the number of hours they worked. As a result, many employees who logged more than 40 hours in a workweek were not paid overtime for their additional hours of work. Royal West Drywall also violated recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to record and maintain accurate payroll and time records.
"Employers are responsible for ensuring piece-rate employees receive all the wages they have legally earned, including overtime," said Wage and Hour Las Vegas district director Gaspar Montanez. "Investigations like this ensure that employees get paid and that employers compete on a level playing field. Other employers in this industry should use the outcome of this investigation as an opportunity to examine their own pay practices, and to ensure that they comply with the law."
