Investigators found the employer missed several payrolls, and employees were issued paychecks five to six weeks late. Employees had received no wages for the hours they worked in pay periods for which a payroll was missed, resulting in minimum wage violations under the FLSA. Additionally, due to the missed payrolls, employees who worked more than 40 hours in a work week were denied overtime compensation. The FLSA requires employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as well as overtime compensation at time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 in a week.
"Employers are legally obligated to pay for all hours worked, including overtime when employees work more than 40 hours in a week," said Richard Blaylock, director of the division's Raleigh District Office. "Employers can not use the withholding of employee's pay as a form of financing of operations. The Wage and Hour Division is using every enforcement tool available to ensure workplace protections and to prevent employers who choose not to comply with the law from gaining an unfair advantage in the market over those who do comply. We remain vigilant in securing for workers the wages that they rightfully have earned."
The employer has agreed to comply with the FLSA in the future, correct all the violations identified by this investigation and paid the back wages in full.
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Source: DOL
This information is intended to be
educational and should not be considered legal advice on any specific matter.
