WYNNE (KATV) - The Wynne
Police Department will pay $150,085 in back wages and liquidated damages to 24
uniformed officers for alleged violations of the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The US Labor Department reportedly found overtime and record-keeping violations. Investigators determined the Wynne Police Department had not paid employees for all hours worked and failed to pay the proper overtime premium to officers who worked beyond 86 hours in a two-week work period. Investigators also found the department had not been keeping records as required by law.
In 2012, the
Wynne Police Department paid $27,500 in civil money penalties for repeat
violations, resolving a separate case filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's
Office of Administrative Law Judges.
"The FLSA provides that employers must
pay their employees for all hours worked," said Cynthia Watson, regional
administrator for the Wage and Hour division in the Southwest. "Failing to
record all the time employees work, and failing to pay proper overtime
compensation, is illegal and unacceptable. As demonstrated in this case, the
Labor Department will use all enforcement tools available, including litigation
and the assessment of liquidated damages, to ensure employees receive the wages
they have rightfully earned."
The judgment, which is subject to
approval by a district court judge, requires the Wynne Police Department not
only to pay the back wages and liquidated damages, but also participate in a compliance assistance and training program on the application of the FLSA. That
training will be presented to all current managers, supervisors and uniformed
officers, as well as to all new hires within 60 days of hire.
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. Fire
departments or police departments may establish a work period ranging
from seven to 28 days, in which overtime need be paid only after a specified
number of hours in each work period. Employers are also required to
maintain accurate time and payroll records.
For
more information about federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division's
toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Little Rock District
Office at 501-223-9114. Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.
