U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Florida Tomato Packing Company Paying $87,920 to 109 Employees in Back Wages

PALMETTO, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Utopia Fresh South LLC – operating as Taylor & Fulton Packing LLC in Palmetto, Florida – has paid $87,920 in back wages to 109 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found the employer was ineligible for an agricultural exemption it claimed and, as a result,   failed to pay employees overtime for hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Investigators determined that the employer purchased tomatoes from multiple growers not owned by Taylor & Fulton and repacked them. The agricultural exemption from the overtime requirements applies only to employees involved in growing product or processing and packaging products grown only by that company. Once employees were packing goods brought in from other suppliers, the exemption did not apply, and they were due overtime.

The employer also failed to maintain records of the number of hours employees worked, as required by the FLSA. 

"This case serves as a reminder to agricultural employers that packing house workers who handle comingled goods from multiple growers must be paid overtime," said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt. "We encourage all employers to review their employment obligations and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for compliance assistance. We have a wide variety of educational materials available to help them understand their responsibilities."

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.