Phoenix drywall painting contractors Apodaca Wall Systems & Empire Wall Systems must pay over $7.4M in wages and damages after deliberately denying overtime to over 1,400 employees.
Department of Labor assesses $125K in penalties for willful violations
PHOENIX, AZ (STL.News) The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering two commonly owned Arizona drywall and painting companies to pay $7,450,000 in back wages and damages after investigators found the employers willfully denied overtime pay to more than 1,400 employees.
The January 15, 2025, judgment by the U.S. District Court of the District of Arizona follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Apodaca Wall Systems Inc. and Empire Wall Systems Inc. violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The companies, owned by Arnold Apodaca and his children, Michael and Brittany Apodaca, attempted to evade overtime wages by paying hourly employees with multiple checks at straight-time rates for all hours worked. They also used labor brokers to hire hourly workers who were paid in cash at the straight time even when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek.
Additionally, the companies paid a piece rate, based on square feet completed, to workers outside the company’s payroll without regard to the number of hours worked. Crew leads received and then redistributed the piece-rate pay to these workers, denying them overtime pay required by law.
“Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems exploited hundreds of vulnerable workers and intentionally deprived them of hard-earned overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “They concocted multiple schemes to evade federal overtime laws and attempted to increase their profits on the backs of their employees. In the process, they made it more difficult for these employees to make a living and provide for themselves and their families.”
In addition to the payment of $3,725,000 in overtime back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the judgment permanently forbids and restrains from future FLSA violations Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems and orders them to pay the department $125,000 in penalties.
“Piece-rate workers are entitled to premium pay for overtime hours,” added Western Regional Solicitor Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “These companies purposely cheated workers and hurt their communities by violating federal law deliberately and are now learning illegal actions like these have costly consequences.”
The division’s Phoenix District Office conducted the investigation. The Regional Office of the Solicitor in San Francisco obtained the judgment on the case.
The department’s significant enforcement efforts in Arizona’s construction industry in the last five years recovered more than $22 million in unpaid wages and damages for workers.
Based in Phoenix, Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems provide interior painting and drywall construction. Apodaca Wall has been recognized by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S.
Current and former Apodaca Wall Systems and Empire Wall Systems employees should call the division directly at 602-407-5323 to find out if they are owed back wages recovered as part of this judgment. The department can speak confidentially with callers in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-487-9243.
