Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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MADISON, Wis. --

A company based in Alma Center, Wis., which sells processed animal hides has paid $31,925 in back wages to 59 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Countryside Hides Inc., doing business as Chippewa Bi-Products, was also fined $12,980 for repeat overtime pay violations.

“The Labor Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the law to ensure that employees are paid all of the wages they are owed and will pursue penalties against employers that repeatedly violate,” said Denise Scharlemann, district director of the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Minneapolis.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated Chippewa Bi-Products under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal law that establishes the minimum wage and overtime standards. The investigation disclosed overtime pay violations for skinners and hide curers who were not paid time and one-half after 40 hours in a week. The violations occurred during the period February 2004 through July 2005.

A previous investigation by the Wage and Hour Division in 2002 of Countryside Hides in Chippewa Falls found overtime pay violations. In that case, Countryside Hides paid $24,388 in back pay to 15 employees.

Chippewa Bi-Products skins, processes and sells cow, sheep, horse and deer hides.

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

For more information about the FLSA, call 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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