The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $934,551 in overtime back wages for 479 employees of UnitedHealthcare and $104,280 in civil money penalties after an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division determined that the employees had been incorrectly classified as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and consequently denied compensation for all hours worked.  UnitedHealthcare is the largest single health insurance carrier in the United States. This action is limited to the company's Hartford location, which specializes in the IT, finance, actuarial and underwriting operations for UnitedHealth Group Inc.

"Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act's requirements, whether large or small, must ensure all of their workers are properly classified and receive the wages they are owed," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Workers deserve to keep what they earn. It is simply unacceptable that a multi-billion dollar company misclassified its employees and failed to abide by some of the nation's most basic labor laws."  After conducting 90 employee interviews and reviewing time and payroll records for 21,000 employees, investigators determined that UnitedHealthcare incorrectly classified employees in several different occupational categories as administratively exempt from FLSA, thereby denying them overtime compensation for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The company also failed to include certain compensation for employment in workers' regular rates, on which time and one-half should have been paid. Additionally, recordkeeping violations were uncovered, as records of the number of hours worked were not properly maintained for those who had been misclassified as exempt. (click on link to read full story)