Georgia peanut company to pay $55K in overtime back wages to 46 employees after US Labor Department investigation

Employer name: Tifton Peanut Co. Inc. #2

Investigation site: 225 Windy Hill Road
Tifton, Georgia 31794

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s Atlanta District Office, found that Tifton Peanut Co. #2 violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Investigators found the peanut processing company paid 46 employees straight time for all the hours that they worked, when the FLSA requires overtime payment at time-and-one-half their regular rates of pay for all hours worked beyond 40 in a work week. During the employer’s busy season, employees who typically worked at the firm’s primary location also performed work at a secondary location. Tifton Peanut failed to include any hours employees worked at the second work site when calculating overtime wages. The employer also failed to maintain required time and payroll records.

Resolution: The employer will comply with FLSA and pay 46 employees $55,323 in back wages.

Quote: “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that all employees receive the proper wages for all the hours they have worked,” said Eric Williams, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Atlanta. “The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to confirm that workers are being paid as the law prescribes, and that we will continue to work to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules.”

Background: The peanut company operates two facilities in Tifton. Plant #1 is a shelling facility and plant #2 specializes in cleaning, drying and grading the peanuts.

Information: For more information about federal wage laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the agency's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/.