HOUSTON – Following a federal court order, the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $139,068 in back wages and liquidated damages owed for 21 workers whose Houston employer misclassified them as independent contractors and failed to pay overtime wages.
TSTAR Services Inc. – a cement-cutting contractor – and owners Benjamin Mendoza and Jose Alejandro Mendoza signed a consent judgment and order wherein they agreed to pay employees for overtime pay. The department’s Wage and Hour Division’s investigation determined that when the employer misclassified the workers as independent contractors, they failed to pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. In addition, the employer did not maintain records as required.
The company and its owners later claimed they were unable to pay the back wages and refused to do so, which led the department to file suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The court then signed the consent judgment and order requiring TSTAR and its owners to pay $69,534 in back wages and $69,534 in liquidated damages to the affected workers. The judgment also enjoins the company against future non-compliance with federal law.
“Employers cannot improperly classify employees as independent contractors to evade federal labor laws,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Dallas. “Getting paid for the hours an employee works is a right and employers have a legal responsibility to pay...
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