US Labor Department recovers nearly $115K in back wages, damages after investigation finds overtime violations at Swedesboro production facility

SWEDESBORO, NJ – JP Technology Inc. operates a hafnium crystal bar production facility in Swedesboro 24 hours a day. At the facility, many employees work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. A recent federal investigation found the employer failed to pay some of these employees any overtime pay, a violation of federal wage laws.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that JP Technology violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when it paid straight time for all hours worked even when employees worked more than 40 hours in a single workweek. The law requires overtime pay for hours employees work beyond 40 in a workweek. The department’s investigation led to the recovery of $114,656 in back wages and liquidated damages for seven employees.

During the investigation, investigators observed that the company exposed employees to chemical hazards in the workplace. The agency informed the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which are conducting separate investigations.

“All too often, employers in the manufacturing sector subject their employees to substandard working conditions, including failure to pay workers for all the wages they are lawfully owed,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Charlene Rachor in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. “When employers don’t pay overtime as required – especially when they take advantage of individuals working more than 80 hours per week – they violate the law, hurt their employees and gain an unfair competitive advantage over employers that play by the rules.”

Headquartered in Jiangsu, China, JP Technology in Swedesboro is the company’s sole U.S. production facility.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.