NITRO – Apex Pipeline Service Inc. entered into a consent judgment with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) over misclassifying certain employees and not paying employees the proper payments for travel.
The consent judgment requires Apex to pay back wages to 243 employees at its Nitro plant.
Apex is required to pay $121,019 in back wages, with an equal amount in liquidated damages, to the employees, bringing the total to $242,039. The consent judgment was approved by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
A U.S. Department of Labor press release states that between April 2016 and March 2018, WHD investigators found Apex violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The investigators determined that Apex misclassified field office managers and safety coordinators as exempt from overtime and failed to pay them overtime when they worked more than 40 hours per week.
"WHD also found Apex made per-diem payouts to union employees based on their craft performed, regardless of the employees' travel status or the distance from home to work site," the press release states. "The employer also paid non-union employees per diem based on the employer's own established rates. When an employer does not make payments to workers for legitimate travel, the law requires the employer to include those amounts in the employees’ regular rates when determining overtime payment."
Apex did not do so in either case.
“Our work continues to ensure that employees are paid the wages they have legally earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field,” John DuMont, the wage and hour district director in Pittsburgh, said in a press release. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to holding employers accountable when they fail to meet their responsibilities. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for compliance assistance.”
Apex provides construction services to oil and gas companies.