HOME & GARDEN BRIEFS

Magazine: Calling all professional designers

Southern Accents magazine and the American Society of Interior Designers seeks innovative and inspiring projects for the 2008 National Residential Interior Design Contest. Interested designers can enter in one of four categories — living room, kitchen, bathroom and outdoor spaces. The winner of each category will be eligible for the $10,000 grand prize, and will appear in the Jan-uary–February issue of Southern Accents and ASID’s Icon magazine.

Entries will be judged by a panel of Southern Accent editors and ASID design professionals in the areas of functionality, utility, originality, skillful execution and comfort. The deadline to enter is Sept. 1. A $100 entry fee must accompany all submissions. Designers do not have to be ASID members to compete.

For a complete list of rules and an application form, log on to www.southernaccents.

SETTLEMENT

Cabinet employees to receive $350,000

Merillat Industries of Adrian, Mich., has agreed to pay $348,217 in back wages to 103 current and former Las Vegas manufacturing plant employees, plus $56,650 in civil penalties, following an investigation by the United States Department of Labor.

Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division discovered that the cabinet manufacturer did not pay required overtime to the workers as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The company also failed to keep complete records of hours worked.

“The Department of Labor is committed to the strong enforcement of labor laws,” said George Friday Jr., western regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division.

The employees were paid based on production, or piece rate, without regard to the number of hours worked. The FLSA requires that employers keep accurate records of all hours worked, including when workers are paid on a piece-rate basis. Under the law, nonexempt employees must be paid no less than 1 1/2 times their regular rates of pay for any hours worked over 40 per workweek.

For more information, visit www.wagehour.dol.gov., or for an online tool to help determine overtime eligibility, log on www.dol.gov/elaws/overtime.htm.

BUSINESS ALERT

Investigation puts contractors on notice

The Nevada State Contractors Board is conducting an investigation into the activities of several unlicensed and revoked contractors in Nevada who continue to defraud homeowners.

The investigation is being conducted with the assistance of the California State Licensing Board. Homeowners are being defrauded through poor workmanship, misrepresentation of services and the excessive charging for services. The companies obtain full-page ads and utilize call-answering services in California. The principals are currently using a Texas or California business address and are attempting to enter partnerships with currently licensed Nevada C-2 contractors, which will enable them to continue working and pulling permits in Nevada.

The following companies are identified as a result of the joint investigation by the Nevada State Contractors Board and the California State Licensing Board:

* USA Plumbing & Electrical

* 59 Minute Service

* 1 Hour Response

* USA Home Service

* USA Services

The companies utilize www.usahomeservice.com as their primary Web site. Contractors are requested to contact the Nevada State Contractors Board at 486-1100, ext. 1144, if they are approached and by the above companies.