U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Kentucky Tire Retailer Paying $51,506 in Back Wages for Overtime Violations

LOUISVILLE, KY – Gra-pel Inc, a tire retailer based in Louisville, Kentucky, has paid $51,506 in back wages to 22 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined that Gra-pel Inc. – doing business as Big O Tires – shared employees across its multiple locations, but failed to combine the hours they worked at each location each week to determine when overtime was due. By doing so, the employer violated FLSA regulations by not paying overtime rates when employees worked more than 40 hours. Instead, the employer paid employees separately, at straight time rates, for each store. In addition, Big O Tires failed to include commissions paid to the employees when calculating their overtime rates at its Madison, Indiana, location. Big O Tires’ failure to accurately record overtime hours also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements.

"If an employee works in multiple locations, the employer cannot treat each location as a separate job for the employee. An employer must understand its responsibilities to its employees and ensure they are being paid as the law requires," said Karen Garnett, Wage and Hour Division District Director in Louisville. "We encourage employers to contact the Department of Labor with any questions they may have, and to use the wide variety of tools we offer to help them understand their obligations and to comply with the law."

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.