Regulators get back wages for employees
By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 9, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Federal labor regulators said they have recovered $841,825 in back wages for 348 employees of Golden-based Pason Systems USA Corp. because of violations of U.S. overtime law.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division said it found the industrial technology company - the U.S. headquarters of Canadian parent Pason Systems Inc. - failed to pay employees overtime for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The investigation also disclosed that bonus payments were not included in the overtime regular rate calculations.
Pason Systems USA makes and rents specialized drilling instruments for use on land-based drilling rigs.
Greg Lindsay, general manager of Pason Systems USA, said the company had paid the geologists involved in the settlement based on a daily rate of compensation. He called it the industry's historic practice. "Now, we are compensating the geologists on an hourly rate," he said.
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