As an HR pro, you’ve probably spent an obscene about of time on LinkedIn. Well, the networking site for business professionals is in damage control after the feds discovered it violated wage and hour laws.
The Department of Labor (DOL) just announced that LinkedIn has agreed to pay $5,855,841 in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 359 former and current employees.
That averages out to a little more than $16,000 per affected employee (although the DOL didn’t specify if the payout would be divided equally).
The underpaid employees were non-exempt inside sales employees.
According to a DOL investigation, LinkedIn failed to record, account for and pay for all hours the salespeople worked in a workweek.
The reason for the violations: “not having the right tools in place for some employees and their managers to track hours properly,” according to a LinkedIn spokesperson.
The company also told Business Insider that prior to the DOL’s investigation, it had already begun to remedy the situation and that it was making every effort to ensure each affected employee was made whole.
That certainly appears to be the case, as the DOL went out of its way to praise the company for its actions to clean up the compliance mistakes.
Dr. David Weil, administrator of the DOL’s wage and hour division, had this to say about LinkedIn:
This company has shown a great deal of integrity by fully cooperating with investigators and stepping up to the plate without hesitation to help make workers whole … We are particularly pleased that LinkedIn also has committed to take positive and practical steps towards securing future compliance.
In addition to the nearly $6M in back wage payouts, LinkedIn agreed to:
- provide compliance training and distribute its policy prohibiting off-the-clock work to all non-exempt employees and their managers
- meet with managers of current affected employees to remind them that overtime work must be recorded and paid for, and
- remind employees of LinkedIn’s policy prohibiting retaliation against any employee who raises concerns about workplace issues.
The affected employees worked at LinkedIn branches in California, Illinois, Nebraska and New York.