A. Samoa utilities authority to pay $110,865 for overtime violations
HONOLULU, Hawaii—After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the American Samoa Power Authority—an American Samoa public utility—will pay $110,865 to 180 employees for violating overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
WHD investigators found the American Samoa Power Authority altered employees’ time records to cap shifts at eight hours each day, regardless of the number of hours they actually worked. When employees worked late and punched out after their scheduled shift ending times, the employer changed the time records to remove the extra hours. This practice resulted in unpaid time, and in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The inaccurate timekeeping also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements.
“Employers must record and pay employees for all the time that they work, including overtime,” said Wage and Hour Division district director Terence Trotter in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The American Samoa Power Authority provides electricity, water, wastewater and solid waste service to more than 60,000 residents of American Samoa’s islands and atolls. (PR)