Oregon Pays Over $1.1 Million In Back Pay For Federal Overtime Violations
The U.S. Department of Labor has required Oregon to issue back overtime payments in excess of $1.1 million, which will be paid to 6,381 State employees. The State violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Under the FLSA, overtime must be computed on an employee’s “regular rate” of pay which must include such payments as shift differential, call back pay, certain non-discretionary bonuses and other premium wages that may be paid above and beyond an employee’s hourly wage rate. The state of Oregon failed to properly pay overtime by not including certain types of premium pay in the overtime calculation for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which is responsible for administering the FLSA, provided guidance to the state on the proper method for computing overtime and oversight to ensure that the calculations were accurate.
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2003 — a 21 percent increase over the record setting amount in FY 2002. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2003 from 129 days to 108 days. WHD assessed employers nearly $10 million in civil money penalties in FY 2003.