DETROIT, MI — A Detroit-area security company recently reached an agreement with the Department of Labor to resolve claims that the company violated federal wage and labor laws by creating separate businesses to disguise the amount of hours workers spent on the job. As part of the consent agreement, Eagle Security Services will pay a combined $67,068 to 25 current and former employees working as security guards for the company and implement new measures to ensure that future wage theft does not take place.
According to an investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, Eagle Security Services created a separate company, Eagle Security Solutions, to pay employees from when they worked more than 40 hours in a week. The goal of the scheme was to mask how many hours the employees actually spent on the job and avoid paying these workers the overtime pay to which they were entitled.
The tactics constituted a clear violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which sets national standards on minimum wage, overtime pay, and recording keeping practices employers are required to follow. When companies commit wage theft and violate the FLSA, the law gives workers the right to hold their employer accountable and recover back pay with interest, liquidated damages equal to back pay, and attorneys fees for hiring a private attorney to litigate claims.
“Creating a separate company to avoid paying overtime violates the law and is an attempt by the employer to gain an unfair advantage over competitors who play by the rules,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell, in Detroit. “We encourage companies to reach out to us for guidance.”
In addition to paying the back wages and liquidated damages, Eagle Security Services will implement a training program for current and new managers regarding FLSA compliance, and conduct quarterly reviews of payroll and time records. Even without the interdiction from federal investigators, the workers still could have hired their own attorney to file a class action lawsuit to recover the back pay and damages.
Security Guard Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit
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