Las Vegas Drywall Contractor Must Pay $824K in Wages, Damages

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $824,276 in back wages and damages for 680 employees of a Las Vegas drywall contractor, which reported denied overtime pay to piece-rate and hourly workers.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated Spectrum Construction LLC, reporting they found the employer failed to pay piece-rate and hourly workers time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for working more than 40 hours in a workweek as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The division reportedly found that Spectrum Construction paid piece rates to workers without any overtime premium for hours worked over 40 and banked the overtime hours of hourly painters, later compensating them with days off paid at straight time or not compensating them at all.

The FLSA requires that an overtime premium be paid to all non-exempt employees for hours worked over 40, even if an employee is not paid on an hourly basis.

The department also assessed Spectrum Construction $10,060 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations.

Spectrum Construction operates as a contractor focusing on drywall, metal stud framing, acoustical installation and painting for residential and commercial buildings in Nevada.