What Happens If The Department Of Labor Wants To Audit My Business?

There are ways to try to negotiate how wide or narrow an audit is going to be. It’s something that most employers are not familiar with, so hiring a lawyer who is familiar with how to try to negotiate with the Department of Labor is crucial.

How Can We Prepare For a Visit From The Department Of Labor?

Employers are required to keep weekly records of the hours that their employees work. Before a visit from the Department of Labor, make sure that those documents are accessible. Make sure that there is documentation that shows what the hourly wage is, how much they are paid for overtime, and what their job duties are. Then, if there is a question about whether a particular employee or group of employees were paid appropriately, you can quickly respond to that without having to create documents or piecing together different information.

What Happens If A Settlement Cannot Be Reached Between The Claimant And Respondent?

Sometimes, the Department of Labor and the employer do not agree whether, for example, it’s a misclassification case or an issue of how many hours the employee is alleging that he or she worked. In that situation, there are two things that can happen. It can be handed off to a supervisor at the Department of Labor and they can try to continue a dialogue in hopes of coming to a settlement. Or, the Department of Labor has the option of filing a lawsuit against the employer. More often, the employees hires their own private attorney and files a private lawsuit.

What Happens If The Company Fails To Pay The Required Amount?

If the Department of Labor says that a particular employee is owed $5,000, for example, and the employer believes it only owes $3,000, and there is no settlement but the employer has paid the $3,000, it would only be a partial defense to any future lawsuit. That employee could bring a lawsuit and then the employer would not have the benefit of a full defense and it may be determined that all the back wages are owed.

What Are The Penalties If An Employer Fails To Pay The Employee By Timeframe?

If it is determined that employees are owed back wages, the first penalty could be that all the back wages that are owed. A second penalty could be the doubling of that amount, which is called liquidated damages. In any private cause of action that would be brought with a private lawyer, the employer also faces the risk that the employee’s lawyer would be entitled to his or her attorney’s fees. In certain situations, the attorney’s fees may exceed whatever the employee is owed. It’s often beneficial for an employer to try and solve these issues before they get to a private attorney because, at that point, the legal fees can be quite significant and certainly exceed what is owed in back wages and liquidated damages.

Additional Information On Department Of Labor Cases In Texas

The Department of Labor may be willing to negotiate back wages, liquidated damages, and other penalties but it takes some time to get a clear understanding of when and how much they will negotiate. If an employer is trying to negotiate on their own, they likely will not know how to negotiate with the Department of Labor. An experienced lawyer who deals with these situations can guide an employer during these negotiations.

For more information on Department Of Labor Audits In Texas, a case evaluation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (281) 277-3066 today.