Tree service trimmed OT wages, now must pay up.

• Position: In the News...

Sidelines Tree Service, near Pittsburgh, has agreed to settle U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division charges that it cheated employees out of overtime pay and violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's record-keeping requirements.

The company must pay $43,304 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 69 employees. It pledged to comply with the FLSA in the future.

DOL investigators found that the company paid employees straight-time rates for their overtime hours instead of paying them time-and-a-half for those hours, as required by the FLSA. The company also...