The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recovered $103,665 in back wages for 38 workers employed by a Southlake, Texas, landscaping company that denied overtime pay after misclassifying them as independent contractors.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act included not keeping accurate records and failing to pay overtime at time and one-half an employee’s rate of pay for hours over 40 in a work week.
“Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a serious problem that deprives workers of their hard-earned wages, benefits and protections,” said Wage and Hour Division district director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping has learned there are costly consequences for their violations. We encourage all employers to use our online tools or contact us to better understand laws governing their pay practices.”
Based in Southlake, J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping provides lawn maintenance, landscaping, tree and bush trimming, flower and mulch installation, sod installation, leaf cleanup and irrigation repair services.
According to the DOL, workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when there is an employment relationship between the worker and an employer and there is coverage under the FLSA. Employers are responsible for determining whether a worker is an employee under the FLSA.
Misclassification occurs when an employer treats a worker who is an employee under the FLSA as an independent contractor, and misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a serious problem due to them often not receiving the minimum wage and overtime pay to which they are entitled under the FLSA or other benefits and protections to which they are entitled under the law.
