Newark Co. Must Pay 38 Workers After Alleged OT Violations: DOL

NEWARK, NJ — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has ordered a Newark-based medical transportation company to pay $77,202 in back wages to 38 employees after it allegedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying its drivers a “flat rate” and ignoring overtime requirements when they worked beyond 40 hours a week.

On Tuesday, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division announced that AWAB Transport Inc. of Newark must also pay $77,202 in liquidated damages to the affected workers.

The DOL stated:

“The Division’s investigators found AWAB Transport Inc., doing business as AWAB Medical Transport, paid drivers a flat rate per day, without regard to the number of hours that they worked. This resulted in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek with no overtime premium. The company also failed to pay overtime to salaried employees who did not qualify for an exemption from overtime requirements as supervisory or administrative employees.”

According to the DOL, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered, non-exempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at http://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool for those who think they may be owed back wages collected by the Division.

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