A Tempe-based audio, visual and lighting company was forced to pay $120,869 in overtime owed to 32 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division investigated the firm.

The company, Sound Image, violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the department said in a news release.

The investigation revealed that Sound Image failed to pay installers the required overtime rate of 50 percent more when employees worked more than 40 hours a week, the department said.

The company instead paid flat rates per day and ignored the weekly hours total, the department said.

“Employers have an obligation to understand and comply with the labor laws applicable to their businesses,” said Eric Murray, district director of the Phoenix Wage and Hour Division.

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