Department of Labor news release is inaccurate
August 21, 2009
LITTLE ROCK – A news release sent to the media today by the U.S. Department of Labor inaccurately stated that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission had agreed to pay back overtime wages to its current and former wildlife officers. On Sept. 18, 2008, the AGFC entered into a settlement with the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division to settle a disputed claim that stemmed from the DOL’s desk audit investigation that took place between February and May of 2008.
In the September 2008 settlement, the AGFC specifically denied any liability or wrongdoing involving overtime compensation of its wildlife officers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Commission chose to settle with the DOL as the quickest and most economic way to resolve the matter, according to Deputy Director Loren Hitchcock.
The statement, “This is not the first time this organization has not properly compensated its employees,” attributed to Cynthia Watson, Wage and Hour Division Regional Administrator for the DOL’s southwest office, is flatly false. Hitchcock said DOL officials know that the AGFC has not had any previous violations or failed to properly compensate its employees. “We are requesting that Ms. Watson’s statement be retracted,” Hitchcock stated. Additionally, the DOL’s statement that civil penalties had been assessed in the amount of $13,282 was misleading. Actually, the amount was an accumulation of penalties assessed against other Arkansas state agencies and not the AGFC.
In a November 2008 memo, Hitchcock informed the officers that “in the interest of DOL’s concern, and ensuring fair and complete compensation for employees, the Commission has decided to credit all nonexempt wildlife officers with additional work time...during the period Jan. 1, 2006 to March 1, 2008.” The AGFC paid 18 former officers a total of $9,647 and provided current officers with a total of 7,586 hours of compensatory time. Most of the wildlife officers have already used their compensatory time.
Editor’s Note: The Department of Labor’s press release is below.
U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Public Affairs
Dallas, Texas
ESA-WH-09-824-DAL |
For Immediate Release
Friday, Aug. 21, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth Todd
Phone: 972-850-4710 |
State of Arkansas agrees to pay more than $130,000 in back overtime wages for 161 wildlife officers following U.S. Labor Department investigation
Civil money penalties total more than $13,000
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The state of Arkansas, Game and Fish Commission, has agreed to pay $132,154 in back overtime wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found 161 current and former wildlife officers did not receive overtime pay as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Civil money penalties assessed total $13,282.
The investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Little Rock determined that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission failed to pay its employees for all hours worked, including those worked over 40 in a workweek. Employees were assigned work at home such as answering telephone calls and completing computer assignments, for which they were not compensated.
“This is not the first time this organization has not properly compensated its employees,” said Cynthia Watson, the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the Southwest. “In this case, these
officers were not compensated for assigned duties following their shifts.”
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has agreed to future compliance with the law. Back wages and civil money penalties have been paid in full.
The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked more than 40 per week, unless otherwise exempt. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.
For more information about the FLSA, call the department’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243); visit the Internet at http://www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the Wage and Hour Division’s Little Rock District Office at 501-223-9114.
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