A prominent collision repair center in Ellwood City, Pa., has been ordered to pay thousands in back pay and damages to some of its workers, according to an article by the Ellwood City Ledger.

The shop, McElwain Brothers Paint and Collision, will be paying $67,462 to its workers after it was determined by the U.S. Department of Labor that the business had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In the statement released by the department, an investigation was conducted on Boehm Family Enterprises LLC, the shop’s parent company, and found that it had violated overtime laws for 12 mechanics and painters. The department found that the shop incorrectly classified the workers as exempt from the law’s overtime requirements and only paid them straight time when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week. Also, the company failed to include employee performance bonuses when determining overtime pay, the department said.

According to the statement, the company has paid $33,731 in back wages and an equal amount in damages to the affected workers as a settlement of the matter.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve these violations without litigation through the Paid Program. For more information about the law, call (866) 487-9243 or visit www.dol.gov/whd.

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