On February 11 the Department of Labor announced it had filed a lawsuit against two Houston oil companies for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in overtime to current and former employees.

Those two companies? Kinder Morgan Inc. and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP. And the DOL says they didn’t make overtime payments to operators, technicians, maintenance staff, laborers and nonexempt administrative employees. That’s a big violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“There is no excuse for denying workers their rightful wages, and this lawsuit demonstrates that the department will use all available enforcement tools, including litigation and penalties, to ensure accountability and compliance with the law,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, in the news release.

According to a release on the matter, the suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, after an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division which found serious nationwide violations.

Guess those nice dividend checks Jack Conway has been receiving came at a price for somebody.

The mainstream media hasn’t touched this story but you can bet the Republicans aren’t going to ignore it.

This will definitely continue to rear its ugly head.