Arkansas Nail Manufacturer Pays $111,895 to Workers to Settle Overtime, Retaliation Violations Following a U.S. Department of Labor Investigations

PRAIRIE GROVE, AR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Specialty Fastening Systems Inc. – doing business as Specialty Nail Company in Prairie Grove, Arkansas – has paid $111,895 in back wages to 260 employees to resolve violations of the overtime and anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators found that Specialty Nail Company – a manufacturer of bulk and collated nails for industrial and construction applications – allowed its employees only a 15-minute lunch break but automatically deducted 30 minutes from workers’ time. They also found the employer altered time cards to benefit the company when reporting employees’ time to five separate temporary staffing agencies it used for its labor force, resulting in employees not being paid required overtime for all the hours they worked over 40 in a workweek. The investigation also revealed that Specialty Nail Company violated the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provision when it fired two employees after they requested to be paid for overtime hours they had worked. WHD also found the employer violated the FLSA’s recordkeeping requirements by failing to keep all required records.

“Altering payroll records in a way that causes workers to lose earned income and terminating workers for rightfully questioning such practices is not only wrong, it’s against the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Hanz Grünauer, in Little Rock, Arkansas. “Employers need to understand the rules and familiarize themselves with all requirements of the law. Other employers should use the results of this investigation as an opportunity to evaluate their own compliance, and proactively avoid costly violations like those found in this case.”

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.

Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by 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.  

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