California security company fined $309,000 for failing to pay workers overtime for 2 years
Whittier CA October 11 2019
A Whittier-based security contractor has agreed to pay $309,189 to more than 100 current and former employees after failing to pay them overtime for two years.
According to the San Francisco office of the U.S. Department of Labor, GI Security violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company will compensate 126 security guards who worked for the firm across Southern California from Aug. 1, 2016, to July 31, 2018.
An administrative investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division found GI Security employees received paychecks for 80 hours of work for two-week pay periods. But if anyone worked more than 40 hours in a week, they were paid the additional money in cash, and the payout did not include the mandated time-and-a-half for overtime required by federal law.
GI Security also was cited for failing to keep accurate payroll records but faces no additional fines, a DOL spokesman at the San Francisco office said.
The settlement covers current and former employees who worked as security guards in front of stores, according to the DOL spokesman. GI Security provides armed and unarmed security services in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
A company representative declined to comment.
“Other employers should use the outcome of this case as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure that they comply within the law,” said Danny Pasquil, the DOL’s Wage and hour Division district director at the West Covina office.
The settlement averages to $2,453 for each employee identified. The list of affected workers was compiled by payroll records, and the DOL said a list also was provided by GI Security.
The employees scheduled to receive payouts will be contacted by the owners of the company, according to the DOL.
Employees also can contact the West Covina office at 626-966-0478. Address: 100 Barranca St.
