Insight Global LLC, the third-largest IT staffing provider in the US, will pay $354,978 in back wages to 14 employees for violating provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act, the US Department of Labor announced. An investigation by the Department’s Labor Wage and Hour Division found the Atlanta-based staffing and consulting company committed the violations while a subcontractor for Hewlett Packard on an IT contract with the US Department of the Navy.

The McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates, including prospective increases, contained in a predecessor contractor’s collective bargaining agreement. According to the investigation, Insight Global erroneously categorized and paid the employees as computer operators when they actually performed the work of personal computer support technicians, which require higher pay rates. Insight Global also failed to pay employees fringe benefits required by the act.

These incorrect wage rates resulted in overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act when the company based its time-and-one-half calculations for overtime hours on the rates that were erroneously low, according to the Department.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the investigators focused on reported violations that occurred between June 2014 and October 2017.

“When employers receive federal funds to provide services to the government, they must comply with all applicable laws to ensure that their employees receive legally required pay and benefits,” said Jeffrey Genkos, Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director in Atlanta. “Violations can be avoided, and we encourage employers to reach out to us for guidance.”