The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that Magnolia Woods in Wetumpka violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at four of its assisted living facilities, including those in Prattville, Troy and Montgomery.

MW Therapeutic, which was operating as Magolina Woods, has agreed to pay $318,246 in back wages and penalties after an investigation, the labor department announced last week.

Investigators discovered the company was utilizing a fixed work period of 14 consecutive days in lieu of the 40-hour workweek for the purpose of computing overtime, according to the release.

The company had an understanding with its workers who were paid time-and-a-half, the regular rate for hours worked over eight in any workday, and more than 80 hour during a 14-day period.

The company misapplied the overtime exemption stated by the FLSA, which resulted in overtime violations for paying workers straight time for every hour worked. Magnolia Woods also failed to keep an accurate account of hours worked -- resulting in 105 employees being paid $295,146 for overtime back wages.
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