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| Allied Home Mortgage Corp. has paid nearly $2 million in back wages to hundreds of employees.The mortgage branch operator has paid $1.8 million in back wages to 588 of its employees after an investigation by the Department of Labor revealed Allied failed to pay its inside sales employees overtime compensation.
The payout covers wages paid for Feb. 1, 2004, through May 1, 2006. Payees include branch managers, loan officers, loan processors and clerks. “Allied values and appreciates its employees, and has been diligent in its efforts to ensure compliance with wage and hour regulations,” Anthony Musgrave, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, wrote in a statement e-mailed to MortgageDaily.com. “After a thorough review, the company restructured its compensation plans for employees, and those revised compensation plans have been reviewed and approved by the Department of Labor,” he added — declining to provide further details. The recipients of the payout performed inside sales work. A labor department spokeswoman could not provide more information. The agency, however, did say the Houston-based mortgage broker cooperated with the investigation, conducting its own self-audit and agreeing to comply with federal wage and hour laws in the future. Allied claims to be “the largest privately held mortgage banker/broker” in the country. It reportedly operates about 700 offices in 49 states. “With over $15 billion in loan experience and having handled as much as 12,000 loans per month,” the company reports sequential double digit growth since founding in 1991. The investigation covered Allied employees from all over the country. The Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law that regulates employer pay practices, requires that employees be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half the regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a work week. But mortgage loan officers don’t have to be paid minimum wage and overtime pay required by federal law if their job duties conform to an administrative exemption, the Department of Labor has ruled. Under the exemption, an employee must be paid at least $455 a week; the employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business of the employer; and the employee’s primary duty must include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment in significant matters. The Fair Labor Standards Act also requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records. |
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