U.S. Dep't of Labor v. Fire & Safety Investigation Consulting Servs., LLC

**Court Rules Company Must Pay $1.6 Million for Wage Theft** Fire & Safety Investigation Consulting Services was caught shortchanging its workers on overtime pay. The company used a "blended rate" payment system that illegally reduced how much employees earned when they worked more than 40 hours per week. Instead of paying the proper overtime rate of time-and-a-half, the company's payment method gave workers less money than they were legally owed under federal wage laws. The U.S. Department of Labor sued the company, and both a lower court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Fire & Safety. The courts found that the company's payment system violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets minimum wage and overtime rules. Fire & Safety was ordered to pay $817,902 in back wages to make up for what workers should have received, plus an additional $817,902 in penalties, totaling over $1.6 million. This ruling reinforces that employers cannot use creative payment schemes to avoid paying proper overtime. Workers who suspect their overtime pay is calculated incorrectly should know that federal law protects their right to time-and-a-half pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week.