DOL to recover $1.3 million in back wages from kgb USA

Following a ruling by a federal judge, kgb USA Inc., an independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services, is to pay $1.3 million in minimum wage compensation to 14,568 of its current and former employees throughout the country after it violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

These employees were hired to respond to text messages from customers and worked from home. The company has agreed to the ruling, which came following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. That investigation found kgb USA had misclassified employees as independent contractors and paid them a piece rate in accordance to the amount of text messages and inquiries they responded and ignored the number of hours worked. FLSA violations came into play when piece rate earnings did not total to at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.