US Department of Labor recovers $47K in back wages for 13 auto body shop workers wrongly misclassified as independent contractors by employer

Employer name: Sandpiper Autobody

Investigation site: 470 W. State St.

Pleasant Grove, UT 84062

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found Sandpiper Autobody in Pleasant Grove misclassified 13 technicians as independent contractors, and failed to pay the overtime wages as required by the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer also failed to keep accurate employee pay and time records, another FLSA violation.

Back wages recovered: $47,175in back wages to 13 workers

Quote: "Illegally paying an employee as an independent contractor strips them of the worker protections and benefits they are due. By doing so, the employer reduces a misclassified worker's pay, and denies the worker's health insurance, worker's compensation and unemployment insurance. The employee is also burdened by the responsibility of paying employer tax," explained the Wage and Hour Division's District Director Kevin Hunt in Salt Lake City. "And in the long run, misclassification may reduce the Social Security benefit the employee receives in retirement."