Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SEATTLE -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered over $500,000 in unpaid wages for more than 123 workers who processed fish in Egegik, Alaska, during the 2004 fishing season. The Woodbine Alaska Fish Company, formerly of Monroe, Wash., and now based in Rio Vista, Calif., was found in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) when it failed to pay workers their wages.

“The action taken in this case reflects this Administration’s commitment to ensuring that workers receive all the money they have earned,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “To get justice for these workers, the department invoked the hot goods provisions of the FLSA and objected to shipment of goods produced in violation of the Act, resulting in the recovery of more than $500,000 in unpaid wages.”

The FLSA requires covered employers to pay the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in each workweek. Since workers were not paid the required minimum wage and overtime, the Labor Department deemed it was illegal for Woodbine to ship the canned salmon produced by the unpaid employees.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Greater efficiency is also being achieved as the average time to resolve a complaint decreased in FY2004 from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Seattle District Office at 206-398-8039 or the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or visit www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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