NORTHVILLE, Mich. – A Wayne County security company has been ordered to pay $151K in back wages, damages to employees.
A judge ordered Koda Group Inc. and owner and president Timothy Gilbert to pay a total of $151,208 – $75,604 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 64 security guards.
The judgement comes down after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Fair Labor Standards Act violations.
Investigators found the employer did the following:
- Misclassified security guards as independent contractors when they were actually employees.
- Paid the guards a flat-rate for all hours worked and failed to pay time and one-half their hourly rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
- Failed to post a notice explaining the FLSA in a conspicuous location.
The company has agreed to pay back wages in monthly installments through Nov. 1, 2024. It has also agreed to provide all employees with federal wage protections and to maintain accurate payroll records.
“Koda Group created schedules for its security guards who performed work necessary for their employer’s business; assigned them work tasks and required them to followed detailed policies and procedures. These factors are among those that define them as employees and not independent contractors in control of their own work schedules and jobs,” said Wage and Hour District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Workers misclassified as independent contractors are denied their protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act and employers do not pay applicable employment taxes or workers’ compensation on their behalf.”
For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from.