Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN ANTONIO -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division has filed a lawsuit against Sauds Food Mart Inc., Mission, Texas, for failing to pay six current and former employees $11,890 in minimum wage and overtime pay.

The complaint, which alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), was filed in the Southern District Court, McAllen Division, following an investigation by the department’s San Antonio Wage and Hour Division.

“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that all workers are paid the full wages they are entitled to under the law,” said Nicasio Flores, DOL’s Wage and Hour district director in San Antonio. “In addition to the overtime violations, the company illegally deducted cash register shortages from the workers’pay.”

An investigation by the San Antonio Wage and Hour division, covering Aug. 11, 2002 to Aug. 11, 2004, determined that Sauds Food Mart, doing business as Best Way #5, paid employees a straight salary regardless of the number of hours worked per week; failed to pay for required training time; failed to keep accurate payroll records, and made illegal deductions from employees’ pay. The company’s home office is located in Pharr, Texas.

The FLSA requires employers to pay covered employees the minimum wage for all hours worked and time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in fiscal 2004 from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about the Fair Labor Standards Act, call the San Antonio Wage and Hour office at (210) 308-4515 or the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.