U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Federal Judge Ordering Michigan Roofing Contractor to Pay $310,000 in Overtime Back Wages, Liquidated Damages to 74 Employees

GRANT, MI – Michigan roofing and siding contractor American Classic Construction Inc. will pay $310,000 in back overtime wages and liquidated damages to 74 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in Grand Rapids that found the employer had violated overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined American Classic Construction Inc. and company owners – Nathan Thompson, Jacob Thompson and Leon Thompson – misclassified employees as independent contractors, and subsequently failed to pay them overtime at time-and-one-half their regular rates of pay when they worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek. The company also failed to maintain accurate records of the number of hours employees worked.

“Employers must understand their obligations under the law. Simply because a pay practice may appear to be common in a particular industry does not, in any way, mean that it complies with the law,” said Mary O’Rourke, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Grand Rapids. “We encourage employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance, and to make use of the many tools we provide to help them understand the law.”

In addition to paying the back wages and damages due, under terms of the consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for Western District of Michigan, American Classic Construction Inc. and its owners agreed to an injunction against violating the FLSA’s overtime and record-keeping provisions in the future.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

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Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Civil Action No.: 1:17-cv-00875-ESC