Ohio Co. Settles OT Charges

The loan officers were paid commissions on a monthly basis, and, in some weeks, were not paid the federal minimum wage for the hours they worked, according to a written statement from the department. The violations occurred from November 2003 to November 2005.

American Sentry’s president, Ed Clark, said the company was unaware its pay practices violated labor law, but as soon as it was contacted by the Department of Labor the company cooperated with the investigation, paid the back wages and agreed to comply with the government in the future.

“We want to do things the right way,” Clark said.

In keeping with the agency’s policy, Juan Solano, a labor department spokesman in the Chicago, Il. office, refused to disclose how it discovered that the violations had occurred. Solano said the employees had to receive at least the minimum wage on a work week basis. The employment law requires that covered employees be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week. Employees who are paid commissions must receive at least the minimum wage, just as employees who are paid by the hour or by the piece, the agency said in a written statement.

While several mortgage companies in the recent past have been sued by private attorneys and are under investigation for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act‘s minimum wage and overtime requirements, Solano said that he wasn’t aware of any targeted enforcement by the agency of the industry’s pay practices.

Lisa D. Burden is a legal analyst for MortgageDaily.com and holds a law degree from the University of Maryland. She is currently a freelance journalist who previously wrote for Institutional Investor publications and the Baltimore Daily Record.

e-mail Lisa at: burdenlisa@yahoo.com