Tulsa Firm Agrees To Pay Overtime Back Wages

The U.S. Department of Labor says a Tulsa business has agreed to pay $42,452 in overtime back wages to 18 current and former electricians following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division.

In a news release, the Department of Labor says it found violations of the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act by Lighthouse Electric.

"Employees are entitled to receive the wages they have rightfully earned," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. "In this case, the employer benefited by failing to pay employees for travel time to and from their work sites. This case should put other employers on notice to ensure that they are properly compensating their employees for all of the hours that they work."

The release says the investigation found the company failed to pay employees for time spent traveling to and from their facility to a work site. These unpaid hours resulted in overtime violations because employees then failed to receive payment at time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, as required by law.

Lighthouse Electric employs nearly 85 workers who specialize in providing electrical services in the construction industry.

The release says Lighthouse Electric has agreed to comply fully with the law in the future.