Florida landscaping company cuts grass and corners, owing $44,000 in back pay
A Longwood landscaping company did to wage laws and worker paychecks what weed whackers do to overgrown edges, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Competitive Edge Landscaping owes 75 workers $44,280 in back pay after a Wage and Hour Division investigation found the company simply didn’t pay overtime earned by its workers.
Instead, Labor said, the company run by Fred Boothby paid workers a flat daily rate no matter how many hours were worked, or paid a straight hourly rate.
“When the employer did begin to pay overtime, the employer erroneously excluded bonus payments from workers’ regular rates of pay, resulting in paying overtime rates lower than those required by law,” Labor stated.
And, as is common, Competitive Edge was found to have kept poor payroll records, an incongruous violation for a company that pays workers by the hour or day.
Wage and Hour Division District Director Daniel White said, “Most workers — including those paid by the day, by the job, by the unit, or on a weekly salary — are still entitled to overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 7:35 AM.
