Tennessee Poultry Processing Plant Pays $43,507 in Back Wages and Penalties After U.S. Department of Labor Finds Overtime Violations

CHATTANOOGA, TN – A Tennessee poultry processing facility has paid $36,038 in back wages to 69 employees and a civil penalty of $7,469 after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found Koch Foods Inc. violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators determined that the employer did not accurately record the total daily and weekly hours worked by some employees. Consequently, workers did not receive wages for all the hours they worked, and overtime violations ensued when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek and were not paid time-and-one-half.

"Tracking and recording workers' hours is the responsibility of the employer," said Wage and Hour Division's District Director Nettie Lewis, in Nashville. "The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to ensure workers are being paid for all the hours that they work. We remain committed to ensuring that employers who comply with the law do not find themselves at a competitive disadvantage to those who do not."

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). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd.