Local Businesses Covered by FLSA if Employees Handle Materials

By Bober & Bober, P.A. | September 10, 2010 |

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision, Polycarpe v. E&S Landscaping Services, Inc., which rejected the argument by several employers that they were not a covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as an enterprise because their business were local in nature. The businesses at issue performed landscaping, construction work, alarm system installation, or shutter installation. The Polycarpe decision reversed a number of trial courts that had erroneously restricted FLSA coverage. It essentially put the…

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Many Landscaping Companies Violate Wage Laws

By Bober & Bober, P.A. | July 28, 2009 |

Some landscaping companies try to avoid overtime pay by paying their workers a piece rate for removing landscaping, but fail to pay their workers overtime when they exceed for 40 hours in a week. For example, one landscaping company was required to pay $52,240 in back wages and penalties following a determination by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that company violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) buy using such a piece rate pay…

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Immigrant Wage Theft

By Bober & Bober, P.A. | July 25, 2009 |

All covered employees, whether working legally or illegally, and regardless of his or her immigration status, are entitled to be paid the minimum wage and overtime. Wage theft from undocumented workers is common, especially in workplaces such as construction sites, nail salons, and restaurants that are largely staffed by immigrant workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits employers from retaliating against their employees for asserting their right to their wages. Threats to turn over employees to U.S. Immigration and Customs…

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