Rental Concepts pays $96,511 in back wages following investigation

Rental Concepts

Rental Concepts of Springdale, Arkansas, which operates as RNR Tire Express, a franchise retailer of tires and custom wheels, has paid $96,511 (£75,137.19) in back wages to 239 employees. 

This follows an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which uncovered systemic violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime provisionsThe employer also violated Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) record-keeping provisions.

Investigators found that Rental Concepts had failed to include employees’ monthly sales commissions and production bonuses in their hourly pay when calculating overtime rates for account managers, salespeople and shop technicians.

In addition, while the company did provide medical leave, it failed to provide notice to its employees regarding the FMLA, as required.

Hanz Grunauer, Little Rock district director at the WHD, said: “This case is a good example of how seemingly small mistakes in payroll can add up quickly and violate the FLSA.

“The US Department of Labor offers many tools and resources to employers to increase compliance. Employers should take advantage of these resources.”