US Department of Labor recovers $60K in back wages, damages for 10 Chicago sanitation workers denied overtime pay

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US Department of Labor recovers $60K in back wages, damages for 10 Chicago sanitation workers denied overtime pay

Employer: Green Maintenance Services Inc., Jan Jarosz

Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment and order

Courts: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago

Findings: A federal court entered a consent judgment ordering Green Maintenance Services Inc., a Chicago area sanitation company and its owner Jan Jarosz to pay a total of $60,084, representing $29,083 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus post-judgment interest to 10 current and former employees.

Entered on Dec. 27, 2024, the consent judgment and order resolves a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on April 17, 2024.

An investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division found the Chicago-based sanitation company and Jarosz violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Actwhen they failed to pay employees overtime at time and one-half their average hourly rate for hours worked over 40 in a week from at least April 7, 2021, through April 6, 2023. Investigators also noted one employee did not receive a final paycheck.

The consent judgment restrains the sanitation company and Jarosz from future violations of the FLSA. Additionally, Green Maintenance Services agreed to classify sanitation workers as employees and not independent contractors. The Wage and Hour Division found the company misclassified two of its sanitation workers as independent contractors.The company will pay the back wages in three monthly installments.

Quotes: "For more than 85 years, federal law has required that employees receive time and one-half their hourly rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week. This judgment puts those earned wages back in the hands of former employees shortchanged by Green Maintenance Services and Jarosz," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tom Gauza in Chicago. "The Department of Labor will always protect the rights of workers in all industries to receive the pay they have rightfully earned."

Attorney Correll L. Kennedy in the department's Regional Office of the Solicitor in Chicago litigated the case.

Background: Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

U.S. Department of Labor v. Green Maintenance Services Inc., Jan Jarosz

Civil Action No.: 1:24-cv-03094

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