US Department of Labor recovers $34K in back wages for 47 Charlotte delivery service workers denied overtime

Employer:                    Riverstone Logistics LLC

Investigation site:       13860 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Charlotte, NC 28277

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Riverstone Logistics LLC misapplied exemptions and paid employees a flat salary without an additional overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. In addition, the employer allowed a 16-year-old employee to work more than 3 hours per day when school was in session, and more than 8 hours per day when it not in session, both FLSA child labor violations.

Back Wages Recovered:                   $34,665 in back wages for 47 workers

Civil Money Penalties Assessed:     $734 to address the child labor violation                                      

Quote: “Employers must pay their employees for all the hours they worked. Paying a salary doesn’t exclude employers from their legal obligation to pay overtime wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Richard Blaylock in Raleigh, North Carolina. “This investigation also found an infraction of federal child labor laws which ensure real work experience does not come at the expense of the minor-aged workers’ education and well-being.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. The division also offers numerous online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including  information about protections for young workers on the department’s YouthRules! website. 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.