A California roofing and painting contractor will pay more than $320,000 after federal investigators found overtime violations tied to off-the-clock work that was never counted as paid time.
An investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found Howard and Sons Inc. failed to pay 62 employees for some of the hours they worked, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The company has agreed to pay $267,177 in back wages and an additional $53,010 in civil penalties due to the willful nature of the violations.
According to investigators, the wage and hour violations were not limited to missed overtime calculations. They determined the employer failed to count several categories of compensable time, including:
The employer also failed to keep accurate records of hours worked, investigators determined, which directly contributed to the overtime violations.
For HR teams, that combination is a familiar risk pattern. When work time isn’t clearly defined, communicated, and recorded, compliance gaps emerge long before payroll runs.
Off-the-clock work tied to setup, supply pickup, travel between locations, and end-of-day tasks is a recurring source of FLSA exposure in field-based roles.
These activities...
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