Auto parts supplier to pay more than $75K in unpaid overtime wages, damages to 526 workers in Michigan, Alabama

TROY, Mich. – A Michigan-based auto components manufacturer and supplier will pay 526 workers $75,064 – representing $37,532 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – after federal investigators determined the company calculated their overtime pay incorrectly.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Inteva Products LLC violated Fair Labor Standards Act provisions when it failed to include workers’ shift differentials when calculating overtime rates for hourly employees at one facility in Michigan and two in Alabama. The employer based overtime payment on the employees’ base hourly rates, rather than paying time and one-half of their total earnings per hour, as the law requires.

“The U.S. Department of Labor takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure workers receive the wages they have rightfully earned. This agreement recovers money owed to hardworking people and their families,” said Timolin Mitchell, the division’s district director in Detroit. “We encourage employees who believe they are not being paid properly, or employers with questions about how to comply with the law to reach out to the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance.”

Investigators found violations at the following locations:

• Adrian, Michigan: back wages of $21,451 due to 243 employees.
• Cottondale, Alabama: back wages of $2,656 due to 64 employees.
• Gadsden, Alabama: back wages of $13,424 due to 219 employees.

In addition to paying the back wages owed, the company will pay an equal, additional amount to each employee in liquidated damages. The employer has also redesigned the payroll system at its facilities to ensure overtime is properly calculated in the future, and includes shift differentials.

Based in Troy, Michigan, Inteva Products is a global company employing more than 15,000 people in 50 locations on five continents.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular hourly rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The FLSA provides that employers who violate the law are, as a general rule, liable to employees for their back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are paid directly to the affected employees. Additionally, the law requires employers to maintain accurate time and payroll records and prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

For more information about the FLSA, visit https://www.dol.gov/whd or call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).