In a previous post, I mentioned the importance of compliance with FLSA due to recent increase in enforcement efforts by the Department of Labor. One point I mentioned was the need for an employer to understand which bonuses needed to be included in the calculation in the appropriate overtime rate for employees. An illustration of how costly this mistake can be occurred this week. Texas company, Kinder Morgan entered into an agreement with the Department of Labor to pay $830,422 in back wages based on violations of the FLSA, including failure to include bonuses as part of an employee’s regular rate. The other violations included failure to pay employees for pre-shift meetings and improper rounding of an employee’s work hours. Evenlarge companies like Kinder Morgan make mistakes applying the FLSA. It’s worth your time to audit your wage and hour practices to ensure compliance.