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🗞️ Bonuses Burned: Mississippi HVAC Firm Owes 140 Workers $122K in Back Pay

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $122,476 in back wages for 140 workers at AirSouth LLC, a Mississippi HVAC company, after finding the employer failed to include bonuses in overtime calculations and withheld final paychecks from two employees.

onthelaborfront

08 Apr 2026 — 2 min read

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $122,476 in back wages for 140 workers at a central Mississippi heating and cooling contractor, after an investigation found the company had underpaid employees by miscalculating overtime and failing to issue final checks to two departing staff members.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that AirSouth LLC, which operates as AirSouth Cooling and Heating and runs locations in Mendenhall and Greenville, Miss., violated the Fair Labor Standards Act in two respects. The company did not factor non-discretionary bonuses into workers' overtime rates, and it failed to issue final paychecks to two employees upon their separation from the firm.

The distinction matters under federal law. Non-discretionary bonuses, which include production incentives, attendance rewards, and other payments employees come to expect as part of their compensation, must be folded into the base rate from which overtime is calculated. When employers omit them, workers effectively receive less than the legally required time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond 40 in a given week. The Labor Department's own guidance on bonus pay identifies this as one of the more common compliance failures among employers of hourly workers.

"The U.S. Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring that workers receive the wages they have rightfully earned," said Audrey Hall, the Wage and Hour Division's district director in Jackson, Miss. "This case serves as an important reminder for employers to review and assess their pay practices."

AirSouth was established in 2016. The division said employers with questions about their pay practices can reach its compliance team through a toll-free helpline and may also use the agency's voluntary PAID program, which allows companies to self-audit and voluntarily pay back wages owed before formal enforcement action is pursued.

Key Points

AirSouth LLC, headquartered in Mendenhall, Miss., was found in violation of the FLSA following a Wage and Hour Division investigation
140 workers will receive a share of $122,476 in recovered back wages
The company excluded non-discretionary bonuses from overtime calculations and failed to issue final paychecks to two employees
Federal law requires non-discretionary bonuses to be included in the regular rate of pay when computing overtime
The DOL's Wage and Hour Division offers free compliance assistance, a toll-free helpline at 1-866-487-9243, and a voluntary self-reporting program for employers
Workers who believe they are owed back wages can search the WHD's back wages tool