Bradenton furniture maker to pay $100K for overtime violations

A Bradenton furniture maker was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in fines due to labor violations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. It was the second time in six years that the company has been found to have violated overtime laws, officials say.

Alumatech Furniture Manufacturing, based on 17th Street East, just north of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, manufactures and repairs outdoor furniture. It specializes in patio furniture, like chaise lounges.

Eight piece-rate or commission-based employees at Alumatech were not compensated for working more than 40 hours a week, so federal investigators ordered the company to pay $92,562 in back pay and liquidated damages, officials reported April 29. Failure to pay the workers for putting in more than 40 hours a week violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring workers get every dollar they earned,” Tampa-based Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff of the U.S. Department of Labor says in a statement. "Employers who choose to pay employees by piece or hour must still pay non-exempt employees the required overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek."

An earlier investigation from 2016 to 2018 found that Alumatech had also failed to pay piece-rate employees for overtime, resulting in $8,000 in back wages and a $734 civil fine, according to authorities. Piece-rate employees are paid by the piece.

Since the Bradenton company had previously failed to compensate its workers, the U.S. Department of Labor levied an $8,328 fine for the new violations. Alumatech, which employs about 55 workers, paid $100,890 as a result of the new investigation.

“Faulty pay practices can lead to sizeable wage and damage recoveries and possibly penalties," says Ratmiroff, "all of which makes for a very costly lesson."