South Carolina Auto Body Shop Pays $21,874 in Back Wages and Damages After U.S. Department of Labor Finds Overtime Violations

SURFSIDE BEACH, SC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Coastal Collision & Glass Inc. – an automotive body repair shop based in Surfside Beach, South Carolina – has paid $21,874 in back wages and liquidated damages to six employees to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined Coastal Collision & Glass Inc. failed to pay employees overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, instead paying straight time rates for all the hours that they worked. The employer also failed to keep accurate records of hours worked for one employee. The law requires employers to pay most employees overtime at time-and-one-half their regular rates of pay for hours they work beyond 40 in a workweek.

“Our work continues to ensure that workers are paid the wages they have legally earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia, South Carolina. “We encourage all employers and employees to contact us for assistance in understanding their obligations and rights under the law. Violations like those found in this case 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 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/agencies/whd.

WHD’s mission 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.