U.S. Department of Labor suit seeks $47K in back wages, damages from Detroit security company
DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint in federal court for a total of $47,439 in back wages and liquidated damages for 42 people, according to a Dec. 13 press release.
The 42 people were employed by Detroit Body Guards Protection Unit LLC to provide armed guard services to marijuana dispensaries in the metro Detroit area, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
The department's wage and hour division said the company allegedly paid "straight time" for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek when time and one-half their regular rate-of-pay was required from at least Oct. 2021 through April 2022.
According to the division, the company also treated some guards as exempt from overtime, all of which violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In the complaint, the department named the company and its human resources director Carla Bland, as responsible for the company's day-to-day operations.
"Complying with federal wage laws in not an option," Timolin Mitchell, Wage and Hour District Director in Detroit said. "Federal regulations protect every worker's right to be paid for hours they work and the overtime earned. The Department of Labor is committed to showing Detroit Body Guards Protection Unit LLC and other employers who violate the federal wage laws that they will be held accountable."
Detroit Body Guards currently owes $25,587 in back wages to employees after the division found the employer shortchanged them from Aug. 11, 2019, through Oct. 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
Bland signed an agreement with the department to pay the back wages due and to future FLSA compliance, according to the U.S. Department.
