DOL lawsuit against Arizona contractor alleges 'long-running violations'

Valley-Wide Plastering, an Arizona stucco and plastering contractor, is in the midst of a long-running investigation and lawsuit filed in 2018 by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). According to the DOL, Valley-Wide "fabricate[d]" and "alter[ed] time records to make it appear that it had paid overtime" to its piece-rate workers. The agency alleged the record-keeping violations resulted in the company "continu[ing] to deny workers' wages they have legally earned."

What are the record-keeping requirements under the FLSA?

In the May 2020 issue of West Employment Law Letter, I alerted employers to the perils of paying piece rate to employees (see "Overtime violations assessed against Arizona employer paying piece rate"). Employers that pay piece-rate compensation are required to track hours worked by employees and comply with the overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Act also requires employers to maintain accurate records of hours worked for all nonexempt employees regardless of whether they are paid on an hourly, salary, or piece-rate basis. Failure to maintain accurate records could result in liability for claimed overtime violations and penalties for record-keeping violations.