Las Vegas limo company to pay nearly $240K in back wages

A Las Vegas limousine company will pay 88 employees $239,555 in back wages in a settlement for violating minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

VLS LLC, doing business as Vegas Limousine Service, will pay an average of $2,700 to each employee affected following an eight-month investigation by the Las Vegas office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Gene Ramos, assistant director of the Las Vegas District Office, said there was no willful intent by company managers against employees and no civil penalties will be brought against Vegas Limousine Service over the employee-initiated complaint.

Ramos said the complaint was initiated in February and the investigation was concluded in September. Investigators determined that drivers were being paid solely on a commission basis. The commissions earned, when divided by the actual hours worked by employees, were less than the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour. The company also failed to pay legally required overtime to drivers when they worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek.

"These drivers have been working long hours to support their families," Garpar Montanez, director of the Las Vegas office, said in a statement.

"Thanks to this settlement, dozens of workers will receive their rightfully earned wages."

Montanez said the case illustrates the need for employers to understand and comply with labor laws that apply to their businesses. He encouraged employees who believe they have been treated similarly to call his office.

The case was similar to a matter a year earlier in which another limousine company, Executive Las Vegas, was ordered to pay 479 employees $232,317 in earnings below minimum wage.

Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter. Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.