Workers say pay was under minimum wage

TAMPA - Many of them met on the job and worked for an employer they say took advantage of the fact they were desperate for work.

Work that all 9 insist sometimes paid less than minimum wage.

"I was written a paycheck for two weeks of work for $36," said Ray Kemper.  He claims he made less than $1 per hour for the two 40-hour weeks he worked as a telemarketer at Energy Choice Preference, which also does business as Energy Choice Partners on Armenia Avenue in Tampa.

"He said 'Oh, well, that is all the talk time you had,'" said Kemper, who claims that is how a manager responded to questions about his pay.

Kemper maintains it was the first time he had heard the words 'talk time' in relation to his pay.  We found the term at the bottom of one of the company’s job postings, but the same ad lists the salary as $8 an hour minimum.

"I learned from another employee I was only paid for the time I was on the phone," said Kaitland Smith.  She showed us a $149 check that Smith claims covered two full-time work weeks.

Smith says her pay fell far below minimum wage more than once. "My check was $80 and whenever I went to ask about it, of course Scott was not there," said Smith.

She's referring to Scott Hedger, who according to documents filed with the state, led the company as its president until 2011.  Hedger still appears on the company's website as the CEO. He refused our repeated requests to answer the allegations on camera but he did respond via email.

"We believe it's merely retaliation from a group of terminations that took place. ... and our records indicate they have all been paid at least minimum wage for hours worked."
 
Half of those we interviewed admitted to being fired. Quincy Jackson says the company let him go after he repeatedly questioned checks like the one he showed for $120.

"I can't pay my bills. I can't do anything with that," said Nerland Florexil, who showed us a $206 check. But nothing, she says, prepared her for the Friday they handed her a $20 bill for the entire pay period.

"For me to go home and actually show somebody that $20, it made me mad.  It actually upset me," said Florexil through tears.

In his email, Hedger responded to the low pay claims. "We do not cheat anyone out of money in fact the few times there has been any deviation in a payroll we have made it our policy to more than over compensate the employee."

You can read Hedger's entire response at http://wfts.tv/ztJINM .

The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division confirms two investigations involving Energy Choice Partners and employee pay.  One of them is ongoing and the agency won't comment on specifics but the other ended last June.

We obtained documents on the first investigation and discovered the Wage and Hour Division found eight of Scott Hedgers employees were not paid for the hours worked when they left employment. DOL ruled that those workers "are due $1,433.26 in unpaid minimum wage back wages."  Wages DOL reports Hedger ended up paying.

The former employees we met with say Hedger also offered performance pay based on the number of deals they closed on the phone.

Meanwhile, the company continues to post jobs on the state-funded website EmployFlorida.com, but Ed Peachey, President of WorkNet Pinellas, says companies who don't pay hourly wages are not allowed on the site. "We don't list jobs that are commission only.  If that is the case, those jobs should not be listed on Employ Florida," said Peachey.

WorkNet Pinellas, which is funded by the Department of Labor, says it would need to hear from employees before it can pull the job listings.  It does not acknowledge the complaints that were filed with its wage and hour division.

Meanwhile the Department of Labor's investigation in to the latest round of employee pay complaints continues.

If you or someone you know is dealing with a similar issue you can contact the Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov/whd/