U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in $1,794,753 in Back Wages and Liquidated Damages For Georgia Distribution Center Employees

ATLANTA, GA – An Atlanta, Georgia-based warehouse and food distributor for restaurants in the Southeast U.S. will pay $1,794,753 in back wages and liquidated damages to 130 employees and $36,414 in penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found Kirnland Food Distribution Inc. and Y&L Service Inc. paid its employees fixed salaries without regard to the number of hours they actually worked, leading to minimum wage violations when those salaries failed to cover all the hours the employees worked at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The practice also resulted in overtime violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but were not paid overtime. In addition, investigators found recordkeeping violations when the employer failed to maintain accurate time and payroll records for employees.

A previous investigation of this employer disclosed the same pay practices. WHD assessed civil penalties for the willful and repeat nature of the violations.

"The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that employees receive the wages they have earned for all the hours they have worked," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Eric Williams, in Atlanta. "We are also determined to hold employers accountable when they repeatedly violate the law so that they do not gain an unfair competitive advantage over those who play by the rules. This investigation should encourage other employers to evaluate their pay practices to ensure they are in compliance. Violations like these can be avoided."

HF Group Holding Corp. owns Kirnland Food Distribution, with two distribution centers in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Ocala, Florida. Y&L Service Inc. operated in the same facility as Kirnland Food Distribution, but dissolved operations in 2017. 

WHD provides a wide variety of compliance assistance tools to help employers understand their responsibilities and employees understand their rights.

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.