Court orders California construction contractor to pay $770K in back wages, damages after federal investigation finds minimum wage, overtime violations

Because $770,000 is the amount going directly to workers ($385,000 in back wages + $385,000 in liquidated damages), while $790,000 is the overall financial hit once you also add the $20,000 civil money penalty the company must pay to the government. The headline focuses on wages and damages; the body includes the penalty too, which explains the $20,000 difference.

A consent judgment is a binding court order that all parties agree to in order to resolve a lawsuit without a full trial. In this case, the consent judgment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California:

• Orders Innovative Wall Systems Inc. (Alta Drywall) and its president/CEO to pay $385,000 in back wages, $385,000 in liquidated damages, and a $20,000 civil money penalty.
• Formally enjoins (orders) the company and its CEO not to violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) again, including keeping accurate time records and paying overtime for hours over 40 in a week.
• Requires them to comply going forward with FLSA recordkeeping and overtime rules, under court supervision. If they fail to comply, the Department of Labor can return to court to enforce the judgment.

The press materials do not spell out the exact per‑person distribution. However, they state that $385,000 in back wages must be paid to 580 affected employees. In practice, the Wage and Hour Division or the parties will calculate each worker’s share based on how much that individual was underpaid (unpaid minimum wage and overtime) over the covered period; workers who lost more will receive larger shares. There is no indication of an equal, flat amount per worker.

Yes. The consent judgment expressly covers both Innovative Wall Systems Inc. and its president and chief executive officer, Jason Shane Bellamy, enjoining them from future FLSA violations and requiring payment of the amounts ordered. Under the FLSA, individuals who act directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to employees (such as owners or executives who control pay practices) can be held personally liable for unpaid wages and equal liquidated damages in enforcement actions and private lawsuits.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, “liquidated damages” are an additional amount, equal to the unpaid wages, that an employer must pay when they violate minimum wage or overtime rules. So if workers are owed $385,000 in back wages, the court can (and usually does) require another $385,000 in liquidated damages on top of that. These damages are meant to compensate workers for the delay in receiving their proper pay, not to punish the employer.

Paying workers on a per‑unit or piece‑rate basis does not remove overtime obligations. Under the FLSA:

• The employer must still track each worker’s actual hours.
• The worker’s “regular rate” is calculated from their total piece‑rate earnings divided by total hours worked in the week.
• For hours over 40 in a workweek, the employer must pay at least time‑and‑one‑half of that regular rate. In the Alta Drywall case, the Wage and Hour Division emphasized that even with per‑unit pay, employers must track hours and pay overtime once workers exceed 40 hours in a week.

The Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program is a voluntary U.S. Department of Labor program that lets employers:

• Proactively audit their own pay practices for potential minimum wage, overtime, tip‑retention, or certain FMLA violations;
• Self‑report those potential violations to the Wage and Hour Division; and
• Work with the agency to pay 100% of back wages (and provide any FMLA remedies) quickly, avoiding litigation. Employers should use PAID when they identify or suspect past pay or leave violations, are not already under investigation or in litigation over those issues, and are willing to correct practices and commit to future compliance.

Workers can check if they are owed back wages by using the Wage and Hour Division’s online Workers Owed Wages (WOW) tool:

1. Go to the WOW application on DOL’s website.
2. Search for your employer’s name.
3. If your name appears under that employer, submit your contact information to receive a claim form.
4. Sign and upload the form and ID documents through login.gov. WHD then processes the claim (typically within about six weeks) and sends any back wages that are being held for you.