Many employees remain unaware of their right to receive proper wages. Some employers take advantage of this situation and provide unreasonable workers’ compensation. If you have are not receiving proper wage, your employer can be held liable if it is proven that they do not abide by the rules promulgated by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Such is the case of Crème de la Crème, a Denver-based child care provider that has branches in various parts of the country was recently ordered by the court to pay more than $41,000 in back wages after being found guilty of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). About 354 former and current child care workers who worked in 21 day care centers throughout 8 states, including Texas, Georgia, Kansas, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, and Colorado, were reported to have been abused by the said employer.
Some of the violations committed by Crème de la Crème were the following: failure to pay workers for overtime work or hours beyond the 40-hour per week schedule, failure to pay workers for the time they spent at compulsory training programs, misclassifying workers as ‘independent contractors’ to deprive them of their benefits and pay them for less than the minimum wage of regular employees, and failure to pay keep a proper record of the workers’ hours and wages.
The anomaly was found through the efforts of a multiyear enforcement plan that focused on the industry of child care in Colorado, following reports of non-compliance with the FLSA among various agencies in the state. In a span of three years, a hundred investigations have been conducted by the Denver District Office with 86% of investigated child care providers guilty of culpable violation of the Act. As of 2009, approximately $195,000 have been recovered and distributed to 800 workers.
The amount ordered by the court is expected to compensate for the wages that the workers were deprived of while working for Crème de la Crème. Aside from providing back payment, the child care agency has also been ordered to comply with all the provisions of the Act from now on.
The violations were said to be in the Wage and Hour Division not being able to compensate workers overtime hours that go over the 40 hour limit of each workweek, misclassifying employees in a certain instance, and failing to keep proper work hour and wage records for each employee, resulting in Crème de la Crème paying owed back wages and complying with the FLSA.
In line with this, the multiyear child care investigations which was focused in Colorado, found that there were several who did not comply with the FLSA. Also, throughout 100 similar investigations since the year 2009 by Denver District Office in this division, 86% employers were found violating the FLSA which resulted in back wages that cost $195,000 for over 800 workers.
As part of the plans to lessen violators, the federal government is conducting informative sessions for employers to be familiarized with the Act and all its provisions. Other activities included recognizing community organizations, workers associations and licensing of agencies. These steps aim to regulate employers and to prevent abuse and injustice in the workplace.
Remember no one will stand up for your rights more than you will. If you or someone you know is injured on the job you need an attorney to make sure you get what you deserve. For all assistance, contact one of our lawyers at Kaplan Morrell today at 303-780-7329 for your FREE CONSULTATION.
