Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that Knoxville-based Pilot Corporation has agreed to pay 110 assistant managers $720,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Making sure workers receive all the wages they have earned is our top priority and I am glad we were able to recover $720,000 in back pay for the workers,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “This Administration is a true advocate for America’s workers through vigorous enforcement and our new regulations making nearly 7 million more workers eligible for overtime pay.”

The department simultaneously filed the complaint and the agreed order of settlement in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee, Knoxville Division. The suit was filed because the company failed to comply with a prior investigation that determined their assistant managers should have been paid overtime when they worked more than 40 hours in a work week. The department made the determination after discovering that the assistant managers did not supervise two or more full-time employees and supervision was not their primary duty.

As a result of the prior investigation, the company had agreed to pay these employees an overtime rate when appropriate, but failed to do so. The assistant managers worked at 52 of the company’s convenience stores located in Eastern Tennessee and Virginia.

The agreed order, signed by U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan, also requires the company to pay $43,235 in civil money penalties and prohibits future violations of the FLSA.

The FLSA requires that covered workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage. It also requires that non-exempt workers be paid one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single work week.

The “Overtime Security” regulations, which became effective August 23, 2004, strengthen overtime rights for 6.7 million American workers. The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws administered by the Wage and Hour Division, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or contact the Nashville Wage and Hour Division office at (615) 781-5343. Information is also available at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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