Two construction companies in Essex County have been ordered to pay $600,000 in back wages and damages to 131 workers after a federal investigation found the companies dodged paying overtime, authorities said.
The judgment follows an investigation by the state’s Wage and Hour Division, which found that masonry and concrete contractors Innovative Design and Development LLC and E&N Construction Inc. engaged in illegal pay practices that violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. Attorney information for the employers or the companies was not immediately available on Thursday. A number listed for Innovative Design and Development was not in service. No number was listed for E&N Construction.
Investigators found that in addition to a weekly check for 40 hours worked, the employers paid employees with a second bonus check for overtime hours at their regular rate of pay rather than the overtime rate of one-and-one-half times the hourly wage, as required by law, state labor officials said.