Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—$926K in back wages, damages recovered for FLSA OT violations; OSHA rule violator nets criminal penalty, (Jun 13, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

An employer pleaded guilty to a criminal charge after an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head.

The DOL separately announced that it recovered a total $925,966 in back wages and damages for 711 employees who worked for unrelated employers in Nevada and Texas. In the wake of an employee’s death, a third employer in Ohio that willfully violated an OSHA rule was sentenced to pay a $500,000 fine, serve two years of organizational probation, and comply with a Safety Compliance Plan.

Piece-rate and hourly employees denied OT pay. The DOL recovered $824,276 in back wages and damages for 680 employees after Spectrum Construction LLC, a Las Vegas drywall contractor, reportedly violated the FLSA when it denied overtime pay to piece-rate and hourly workers. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the employer failed to pay piece-rate and hourly workers, including painters, drywall hangers, and tapers, time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek as required. The company instead paid piece rates to workers without any overtime premium for hours worked over 40 and “banked” the overtime hours of hourly painters, later compensating them with days off paid at straight time or not compensating them at all.

The DOL also assessed Spectrum Construction $10,060 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations.

“This case highlights the Wage and Hour Division’s commitment to protecting construction workers’ rights to be paid overtime wages,” said WHD District Director Gene Ramos in Las Vegas. “By uncovering and addressing widespread overtime violations at Spectrum Construction, we are ensuring that hundreds of workers receive the wages they rightfully earned. Our enforcement efforts ensure fair competition in the construction industry and send a clear message that employers must comply with federal labor laws.”

Miscategorized as salaried, failed to pay OT premium. The DOL also recovered $101,690 in back wages and damages owed to 31 employees at Amailey Plumbing LLC, which violated the FLSA when it paid them a salary but failed to pay an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. WHD investigators determined that the Houston plumbing contractor categorized service technicians and apprentice helpers as salaried employees and did not pay them the correct overtime rate as required. The division calculated that the contractor owed $50,845 in back overtime wages and an equal amount in damages.

Criminal penalty for safety failure related to worker’s death. Fabcon Precast LLC, a Delaware corporation with a manufacturing facility in Ohio, was sentenced to pay a $500,000 fine, the statutory maximum, after pleading guilty to willfully violating an OSHA rule. Fabcon will also serve two years of organizational probation and comply with a Safety Compliance Plan. The criminal charge is related to an incident in which an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head.

The company makes precast concrete panels at its facility in Grove City, Ohio. Batch operators were employees responsible for operating and cleaning the facility’s only concrete mixer, which discharged concrete from its bottom through a pneumatic door. The mixer had an exhaust valve that, by design, released the pneumatic energy that powered the discharge door to make it inoperable. The valve’s handle broke off but was not replaced, prior to June 6, 2020. On that day, a batch operator was injured trying to close the discharge door due to the broken valve. He was eventually freed from the door, but he died at a hospital five days later.

“Fabcon Precast LLC willfully failed to adhere to OSHA safety regulations which resulted in the tragic and preventable loss of a worker’s life,” said Special Agent in Charge Megan Howell of the DOL’s Office of Inspector General, Great Lakes Region. “This sentencing highlights our steadfast commitment to continue working with OSHA and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who jeopardize workers’ safety.”

Criminal penalty. Federal law makes it a class B misdemeanor to willfully fail to follow an OSHA safety standard, where the failure causes the death of an employee. The class B misdemeanor is the only federal criminal charge covering such workplace safety violations.

Companies: Spectrum Construction LLC; Amailey Plumbing LLC; Fabcon Precast LLC

News: AgencyNews WageHour Exemptions Overtime Safety WhiteCollarCrime