Nieman Printing Agrees to Pay Employees Back Wages

DALLAS—Nieman Printing has paid $96,335 in overtime back wages to 101 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (USDL), which found that the company violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Civil money penalties assessed total an additional $26,000, the USDL said.

"This company knowingly used illegal employment tactics to avoid paying workers overtime," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. "This investigation demonstrates the Labor Department's commitment to ensuring that employees are paid the wages they have rightfully earned, and to holding employers accountable for compliance with federal law."

An investigation determined that the company required employees to record hours worked on two different time clocks at the same facility during the work week, and then failed to combine those hours to determine when overtime was due.

As a result, employees failed to receive an overtime premium of one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week.

Investigators found that employees were under contract by two separate staffing agencies simultaneously to provide services for Nieman, with hours worked Monday through Wednesday charged to one temporary help service, and hours worked by the same employees for the same employer Thursday through Sunday charged to another service.

Nieman has agreed to comply fully with the FLSA. Back wages and penalties have been paid in full.