Labor Department sues local firms for not paying overtime

YOUNGSTOWN — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed lawsuits against Falcon Transport Co. and Comprehensive Logistics Inc., both of 650 N. Meridian Road, in U.S. District Court, saying the firms violated the federal overtime payment law.

The nearly identical suits filed earlier this week said the firms violated the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which requires that most employees be compensated at the time-and-a-half rate for any hours they work beyond 40 per week.

Certain management and highly educated professional employees are exempt from the act’s overtime payment requirement.

The suits did not say how many workers are affected by the violations, how many employee work hours were improperly compensated, and how much money is collectively owed to the workers, but they say the violations had been occurring since December 2003.

For the complete story, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.