The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered approximately $289,000 in back wages, damages and penalties after an investigation found that two Maryland employers denied overtime wages for 42 workers.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Stark Truss Baltimore LLC and Jordi Construction LLC entered into an “employee lease agreement" for which Jordi provided leased workers to augment Stark Truss Baltimore’s workforce.
Investigators found that once “leased” employees worked 40 hours in a workweek for Jordi Construction at Stark Truss Baltimore’s worksite, they were directed to work additional hours under Stark Truss Baltimore. This arrangement led to the joint employers willfully paying affected employees straight time instead of the required overtime premium for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Under the FLSA, an employee may have – in addition to their employer – one or more joint employers. Joint employment applies when an employee is employed by two or more employers such that the employers are responsible, both individually and jointly, for compliance with federal labor laws.
The department recovered $135,124 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, and administered a civil money penalty of $19,522.
"These employers illegally used their employee lease agreement to intentionally avoid paying overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Linamarie Martinez in Hyattsville, Maryland. “The division will hold companies accountable when they don’t meet their obligations under the law.”
Stark Truss is a manufacturer and supplier of components for the construction industry and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio; Jordi Construction is a residential construction contractor specializing in framing.
