MANCHESTER, NH – A federal court has entered a consent order against a Salem landscaping contractor, operating in southern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts, which requires the New Hampshire-based contractor to pay a total of $283,020 – $141,510 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 19 workers to resolve violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Belko Landscaping LLC failed to pay some employees one and one-half times their required rates of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid workers straight-time rates for overtime hours worked. Belko also failed to record work hours for some workers accurately.
Belko Landscaping LLC and its president, John Belko, also paid $14,231 in civil money penalties due to the willful nature of the violations.
“Paying straight-time rates for overtime hours worked shortchanges workers of the hard-earned wages they need to make ends meet, and violates the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Wage and Hour District Director Steven McKinney in Manchester, New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, these types of violations are common in the landscaping services industry. We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division about their responsibilities and workers to contact the agency with questions about their rights.”
“As this case shows, the cost of violating the law can be high for employers who...
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