The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland has approved an international settlement allowing the U.S. Department of Labor to recover $7,968,744 in back wages, fringe benefits and 401(k) plan assets on behalf of more than 2,000 security guards who were once employed by USProtect Corp.

This settlement puts an end to the Labor Department's actions against the company related to violations of the McNamara O'Hara Service Contract Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The DOL's Wage and Hour Division and its Employee Benefits Security Administration conducted the investigation when the company failed to meet its payroll. Investigators discovered that the company did not pay hundreds of employees for their last two and a half weeks of work, and many employees were not paid the prevailing wage based on their geographic areas or fringe benefits. The company also did not remit employee salary deferral contributions to their 401(k) plan accounts.