Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

ESA Press Release: Nabisco Agrees to Pay $5 Million to 3,130 Employees to Settle Overtime Case with Labor Department [10/04/1999]

For more information call: (202) 693-4650

Nabisco, Inc. will pay $5,047,143 in overtime pay to 3,130 of its retail representatives as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor. The settlement resolves allegations that Nabisco violated the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The company, headquartered in Parsippany, N. J., was found to have improperly paid retail representatives during the period of June 1997 to June 1999. Nabisco incorrectly classified its retail representatives as exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division discovered the violations during investigations of the company's operations in Latham, N.Y., and Washington, Pa.

"This agreement affects workers in 43 states," Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman said. "It's a dramatic statement about how important it is for employers to classify workers correctly and make sure they get the pay they are entitled to."

"Nabisco cooperated in resolving these violations and acted quickly to revise its policies to ensure that employees are properly classified and paid in the future," said Bernard Anderson, assistant secretary of labor for employment standards. "They also were quick to write the back pay checks most of the workers have already received their money."

Employees classified as "retail representatives" had outside sales duties, but spent most of their time delivering and displaying Nabisco products in retail stores. While outside sales work does not require overtime pay, delivering and stocking products is hourly work for which overtime must be paid for hours over 40 in a work week. Nabisco has now divided the work into two separate jobs: outside sales and merchandising.

The terms of the Sept. 13 settlement specify that all back wage payments must be made on or before Jan. 15, 2000.

The northern New Jersey district office of the Wage and Hour Division is located at 200 Sheffield Street, Room 102, Mountainside, N.J. Telephone: (973) 645-2279.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.