U.S. Department of Labor Finds Bay County, Florida, Convenience Stores Violated Federal Wage Laws after Charging Employees for Shortages

BAY COUNTY, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Kajkunj Inc  and Ram Duhn LLC – two convenience stores and gas stations based in Bay County, Florida – will pay $28,724 in back wages and liquidated damages to employees for minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD determined Kajkunj Inc. – operating as M&M Market III in Youngstown – and Ram Duhn LLC – operating as M&M Market V in Panama City – made deductions from employees’ pay to account for cash register shortages and instances when customers drove off without paying for fuel. This resulted in some employees’ hourly rates dropping below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour after those deductions. Both locations also paid employees straight time rates without regard to the number of hours that they worked. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but were not paid overtime.

“The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay their employees at least the federal minimum wage and to pay overtime rates when applicable,” said Wage and Hour District Director Daniel White, in Jacksonville, Florida. “Other employers who may be making deductions from their employees’ pay like those discovered in this case should use this as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to ensure that they operate in compliance with the law. We encourage all employers to reach out to us for assistance. Violations like these can be avoided.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the WHD, 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.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.