Employers regularly make mistakes regarding the amount of pay that employees are given and procedures for keeping records related to wages. If a business allows these problems to continue and become widespread, they may be sued by employment lawyers or subjected to various actions from the Department of Labor.
A hospital system in St. Augustine Florida had to pay out a large sum of money based on violations of overtime laws and record keeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Hospital improperly calculated wages and deducted breaks without checking
The Flagler Hospital has been ordered to pay fines according to a statement released by the Department of Labor. The total amount will equal approximately $107,000 and it will be distributed among 141 employees who were affected by the employer’s mistakes and oversights.
The incident began when officials with the wage and hour division for the department found that the hospital had automatically deducted break time from employees without checking if the deductions were necessary. The time was deducted even if a worker was busy and had worked through their breaks in emergency rooms and other crucial departments of the hospital.
These deductions created a chain reaction that caused further problems. Workers who were owed overtime were not given additional pay based on the improper deductions, and the hospital’s wage records ended up all being wrong based on the miscalculations used in the automatic deductions.
The Wage and Hour district had told all hospital employees to check their records and ask for assistance or use online tools provided by the Department of Labor if they may have been affected. No statements related to this incident were released by the Flagler Hospital.
Wage laws throughout the United States
Every jurisdiction in the country has similar wage laws. All employees must be given at least minimum wage pay, given overtime for work in excess of 40 hours, and paid for all tasks and responsibilities that are fulfilled at the employer’s direction. When an employee feels there may be issues, the state or federal government has a process to file a formal complaint depending on the type and size of the employer. It is also recommended to retain a lawyer to assist with the process of investigating an employer’s actions and determining what remedies might be available. Victims of improper wage payments, discrimination, sexual harassment, and other workplace problems can be compensated through civil lawsuits to pay for all of their losses related to the illegal conduct.
Get help from a local attorney today
There are lawyers throughout the state of Florida who focus on labor and employment claims. You can use the directory from USAttorneys.com to find the right lawyer near you.