TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
Embattled Florida A&M University will have to pay back wages totaling nearly $273,000 to 352 employees for violating overtime provisions and record-keeping requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.
Federal investigators found the university failed to accurately calculate the hours when employees worked in different departments or jobs during a work week, which resulted in some not receiving overtime when the number exceeded 40 hours.
It was also found that employees were awarded compensatory time on an hourly basis instead of the required time-and-a-half provision and were allowed to accrue more than the 240-hour compensatory time limit for a single year.
Florida A&M spokeswoman Sharon Saunders said the university last fall implemented several changes to bring the school into compliance with Fair Labor Standards.
“We can assure you that we are in compliance,” Saunders said. “We are committed to making sure that our employees are paid properly and on time.”
The school is scrambling to regain its accreditation and learned in December that it will remain on probation for at least another six months because of its financial troubles.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools put Florida A&M on probation in June largely for its continued financial missteps — just a few days before James Ammons took over as the university’s new president.
State audits in the recent years cited university financial records that could not be verified, questionable contracting and the university’s inability to account for millions of dollars in inventory.
–Associated Press
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