57 Chicago security guards get 200K in OT dispute

A federal judge in Chicago has ruled a company that tried to avoid paying overtime to 57 Chicago-area security guards by making them sign independent contractor agreements must pay them more than $203,000.

U.S. Department of Labor officials said in a release Tuesday that Judge Virginia M. Kendall's ruling against International Detective & Protective Services included more than $101,577 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

The judgment also imposed a permanent injunction that forbids the company from violating in the future the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Authorities say the company misclassified employees in an attempt to avoid paying time-and-a-half overtime.

A telephone listing for a Chicago office of International Detective & Protective Services was disconnected Tuesday.