Artiaga Solutions of Metairie to pay $118,183 in back wages after labor department investigation
Posted by kquillen July 28, 2008 14:54PM
Artiaga Solutions LLC in Metairie has agreed to pay $118,183 in back wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found 288 current and former housekeeping workers did not receive overtime pay as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation determined that Artiaga, a staffing company, erroneously classified its employees as independent contractors by paying the janitors and housekeepers straight time, and not time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Additionally, the company failed to keep adequate payroll records, the labor department said.

Artiaga cooperated with the investigation. The company has agreed to future compliance with the law and will pay back wages in full by October 2008.