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Janitorial service subcontractor pays $277,000 in back wages

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Janitorial service subcontractor pays $277,000 in back wages

March 26, 2014

Empire Janitorial Sales and Services Inc. has paid $277,565 in overtime back wages to 233 current and former janitorial service workers employed by Acadian Payroll Services LLC, the Department of Labor reported yesterday.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s New Orleans District Office found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and record-keeping provisions.

The investigation found that employees were wrongfully classified as independent contractors and paid an hourly wage with no overtime wages of time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Additionally, Acadian Payroll Services did not establish a seven-day workweek and failed to maintain proper records of weekly hours worked by its employees, according to the Department of Labor.

Empire Janitorial Sales and Services and Acadian Payroll Services shared joint employer responsibilities. Both companies agreed to future compliance with the FLSA; however, full payment of back wages was made by Metairie-based Empire Janitorial Sales and Services, which cooperated with the investigation.

“We are pleased that the employer agreed to reclassify janitorial staff as employees, establish a seven-day workweek and to compensate workers properly when they work overtime,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Southwest. “Misclassified workers are often denied access to basic benefits and protections under the FLSA, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act, overtime, minimum wage and unemployment insurance, to which they are entitled.”