HOUSTON – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $178,358 in overtime back wages for 27 employees of a Houston welding and fabrication company that misclassified them as independent contractors and denied them their full wages and benefits.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found M&M’s Welding & Fabricating – operating as M&M’s Welding – misclassified the workers who specialize in the erection of structural steel buildings. As a result, the employer failed to pay the overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek and paid only straight time for all hours worked.
“M&M’s Welding & Fabricating exploited vulnerable workers by misclassifying and denying them the overtime pay they earned,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Robin Mallett in Houston. “Employers who do this harm workers and their families who depend on their earnings and benefits. They also gain an unfair advantage over their business competitors who abide by the law. The Wage and Hour Division will hold these employers accountable.”
The Wage and Hour Division is responsible for determining whether employees have been misclassified as independent contractors and have been denied critical benefits and labor standards protections. In fiscal year 2021, the division identified more than $36 million in back wages owed to about 21,000 construction industry workers. In its investigations, the division commonly finds violations related to employers...
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