A Houston-area car wash chain violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying overtime rates to employees who worked more than 40 hours in a week, and was forced to pay more than $100,000 in back wages as a result, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The labor department's Wage and Hour Division announced this week that its investigators found that four car wash locations in Houston along with one in Spring and one in Richmond, all operating as Dr. Car Wash Plus, paid employees regular rates for overtime hours they had worked instead of the time-and-a-half rate as required by federal law. The business categorized pay for hours worked over 40 as commission payments and also failed to keep complete and accurate records of the numbers of hours worked by its employees, according to the labor department.
The business paid a total of $114,221 in back wages to 92 employees as the result of two separate and concurrent investigations, both of which begin during the first half of 2022, according to Juan Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Wage and Hour Division. He said investigations are started in response to complaints, referrals or department initiatives.
"When workers in low-wage industries are illegally denied overtime pay, it is difficult for them to make ends meet and care for their families," Robin Mallett, the Houston district director for the Wage and Hour Division, said in a news release. "Federal law requires that employers pay workers all their hard-earned...
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