Carolina Trail Golf Partners Inc. has paid 347 employees a total of $758,465 in back wages following an investigation of seven of its facilities by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime provisions. The investigation included Charlotte Golf Links, Highland Creek Golf Club and The Tradition Golf Club, all of Charlotte; Birkdale Golf Club and Skybrook Golf Club in Huntersville; The Divide Golf Club in Matthews; and The Links at Waterford in Rock Hill, S.C.

Investigators found the employer missed several payrolls, and employees were issued paychecks five to six weeks late. Employees had received no wages for the hours they worked in pay periods for which a payroll was missed, resulting in minimum wage violations under the FLSA. Additionally, due to the missed payrolls, employees who worked more than 40 hours in a work week were denied overtime compensation. The FLSA requires employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as well as overtime compensation at time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 in a week.

The employer has agreed to comply with the FLSA in the future, correct all the violations identified by this investigation and paid the back wages in full.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In general, hours worked includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer's premises or at any other prescribed place of work, from the beginning of the first principal work activity to the end of the last principal activity of the workday. Additionally, the law requires that accurate records of employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained.

The department has a smartphone application to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. Available in English and Spanish, users can track regular work hours, break times and any overtime hours for one or more employers. This new technology is significant because, instead of relying on their employers' records, workers now can keep their own records: http://www.dol.gov/dol/apps/.