U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $33,397 in Back Wages for Employees After Investigation Finds Overtime Violations at South Carolina Tire Retailer

PAGELAND, SC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Pageland Tire Country Inc. – based in Pageland, South Carolina – has paid $33,397 in back wages to nine employees to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators determined Pageland Tire Country Inc. paid one salaried employee and some hourly employees only for their scheduled hours, rather than for the hours the employees actually worked. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked beyond their scheduled hours, but the employer failed to record or pay for the extra time. Some employees began working prior to their scheduled start times, some worked during lunch breaks, and some worked after their shift ending times. Pageland Tire Country’s failure to record the employees’ actual time worked also violated federal recordkeeping requirements.

“Failing to pay for all of the hours employees work is a violation employers can and must avoid,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jamie Benefiel, in Columbia, South Carolina. “We encourage all employers to reach out to us for compliance assistance, and for help understanding their obligations to their employees. Our work ensures that employees get paid all the wages they have legally earned, and that employers compete on a level playing field.”

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 and confidential calls 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 that 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 paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, 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.