Costa Solutions to pay more than $146K in overtime back wages following US Labor Department investigation

Warehouse service provider to the HEB grocery chain to pay 63 workers

SAN ANTONIO — Costa Solutions LLC, a warehouse service provider to the HEB grocery chain, has agreed to pay $146,459 in overtime back wages to 63 current and former employees after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

The investigation, conducted by the division's San Antonio District Office, found that Costa Solutions violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime to a group of hourly supervisors and assistant supervisors, many of whom worked well beyond 40 hours in a workweek. The company also failed to include all earnings when calculating employees' overtime rates.

"Employers are responsible for knowing and applying the federal labor laws that govern their businesses," said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest region. "Failure to pay legally required overtime pay not only harms workers and their families, but puts companies who follow the law at a competitive disadvantage."

Costa Solutions agreed to comply with all applicable FLSA provisions by correctly calculating and paying overtime for all non-exempt employees and ensuring that all legal requirements are met before considering employees exempt from overtime.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Workers who are not employed in agriculture and not otherwise exempt from overtime compensation are entitled to time and one-half their regular rates of pay for every hour they work beyond 40 per week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and it prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

For more information about federal wage laws, call the Wage and Hour Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its San Antonio District Office at 210-308-4515. Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.

• Read this news release in Spanish.