San Jose, California, Manufacturer to Pay $41,214 in Back Wages After Wrongly Denying Requests for Coronavirus-Related Paid Sick Leave

SAN JOSE, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Rogar Manufacturing – a cable and wire harness manufacturer in San Jose, California – will pay $41,214 in back wages to 17 employees for wrongly denying the employees’ requests for paid sick leave for coronavirus-related reasons. The employer’s action resulted in a violation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  

The investigation disclosed that Rogar Manufacturing terminated the workers who were eligible for paid leave under the FFCRA when they attempted to use that leave.

In response to the WHD investigation, Rogar suspended all disciplinary actions, agreed to pay the back wages found due and honored FFCRA leave for all eligible workers upon request.

“The U.S. Department of Labor encourages employers and employees to call us for assistance to improve their understanding of the new requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and to use our educational online tools to avoid violations,” said Wage and Hour District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “We provide updated information on our website and have undertaken extensive outreach efforts to ensure that workers and employers understand the benefits and protections of this new law.”

WHD recently published a Family First Coronavirus Response Act poster that explains paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave related to the coronavirus.

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees either to provide employees with paid leave for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the wages employers must pay.  The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus.

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic

For more information about the laws enforced by WHD, call 866-4US-WAGE, or visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd

For further information about the coronavirus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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.