Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAVANNAH, Ga. --

The U.S. Labor Department filed a temporary restraining order in United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia Savannah Division against SMW Inc., doing business as Savannah Millwork and Cabinet Company, to prevent the shipment of cabinets and doors produced by employees who had not been paid, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The legal action followed an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division which determined that a bank foreclosure had prevented 20 employees of the cabinet company from receiving $9,154 in total earned wages for a two-week period from Jan. 20 to Feb. 3, 2006.

“Employees are entitled to wages they earn for the work they perform,” said Jeffrey J. Genkos, assistant district director for the Savannah Wage and Hour Division office. “This action was taken in the interest of the affected workers and to protect consumers who might unknowingly purchase goods produced illegally.”

The agency lifted its objection to the shipping of the goods after one of the purchasers agreed to pay the back wages. Wage and Hour has received the check and is in the process of distributing funds to employees.

The “hot goods” provision of the FLSA allows the department to obtain a court order to prevent goods from being shipped in interstate commerce when workers have not been paid. The prohibition is not limited to the employer but extends to anyone selling, shipping or receiving the goods.

For more information about the FLSA’s “hot goods” provision and other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Savannah Wage and Hour office, 124 Barnard St., Suite B-210, phone: (912) 652-4221; call the Labor Department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243), or visit the agency’s Web site at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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