Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --

Koch Foods of Mississippi has agreed to pay $326,971 to 174 employees at its Morton, Miss., location after an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Employees covered by the FLSA must be compensated for all hours worked, and they must receive overtime compensation for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek,” said Oliver Peebles III, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Birmingham.

Wage and Hour investigators found that between September 2004 and September 2006, chicken catcher crews received time and one-half of their regular piece rate for the hours they worked on Saturday and Sunday, but they were not paid overtime for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. In addition, drivers were paid an additional amount for transporting crews, but the driving time was not included in their hours worked, resulting in recordkeeping and overtime violations.

The company cooperated fully during the investigation, and agreed to pay back wages, maintain accurate records and comply fully with the FLSA in the future.

Employees covered by the FLSA must be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. Employers must also maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions in fiscal year 2006 and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees. Back-wage collections last year represent a 30 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the department’s toll-free help line at 1 (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243); visit the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov; or contact the district office in Birmingham at 955 22nd St. N., Suite 656; (205) 731-1305 phone.

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