Nieman Printing Pays More Than $96,000 in Overtime Wages Following Investigation

DALLAS—Dec. 31, 2012—Nieman Printing has paid $96,335 in overtime back wages to 101 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which found that the company violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Civil money penalties assessed total an additional $26,000.

“This company knowingly used illegal employment tactics to avoid paying workers overtime,” said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “This investigation demonstrates the Labor Department’s commitment to ensuring that employees are paid the wages they have rightfully earned, and to holding employers accountable for compliance with federal law. We will continue to use every enforcement tool available to ensure a level playing field for all employers.”

An investigation conducted by the division’s Dallas District Office determined that the company required employees to record hours worked on two different time clocks at the same facility during the work week, and then failed to combine those hours to determine when overtime was due. As a result, employees failed to receive an overtime premium of one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week.

Investigators found that employees were under contract by two separate staffing agencies simultaneously to provide services for Neiman, with hours worked Monday through Wednesday charged to one temporary help service, and hours worked by the same employees for the same employer Thursday through Sunday charged to another service. Additionally, investigators determined that some salaried employees were wrongly classified as exempt from receiving overtime; in fact, they were due overtime compensation.

Nieman Printing has agreed to comply fully with the FLSA. Back wages and civil money penalties have been paid in full.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In general, hours worked includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer's premises or at any other prescribed place of work, from the beginning of the first principal work activity to the end of the last principal activity of the workday.

The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for individuals employed in bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales positions, as well as certain computer employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain tests regarding their job duties and be paid on a salary basis at not less than $455 per week. Job titles do not determine exempt status. For an exemption to apply, an employee's specific job duties and salary must meet all the requirements of the department's regulations.

For more information about federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available online.

Source: USDL.