Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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MINNEAPOLIS --

The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that 59 low-wage workers at Mainstreet Bakery in Edina will receive $53,024 and 183 low-wage workers at Twin City Bagel in South St. Paul will receive $28,218 in back wages following investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Workers, many of whom were non-English speakers of Hispanic and Somali descent, were due back wages as a result of overtime pay violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) -- the federal law establishing minimum wage and overtime standards. Some of the Mainstreet Bakery employees, who worked as many as 70 hours a week, were paid straight time rather than the time-and-one-half pay required by federal law for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. In addition to rounding the hours employees worked, Twin City Bagel deducted from employee paychecks the cost of laundering their uniforms during weeks in which overtime pay was due.

“We are committed to ensuring that workers, particularly the most vulnerable workers, are paid the wages they have earned and that are required by law,” said W. Denise Scharlemann, Wage and Hour’s district director in Minneapolis. “We find that recent immigrants may not be fully aware of their rights and are particularly vulnerable, and we will continue to take whatever actions are necessary to see that they are lawfully paid.”

Once notified of the violations, the employers changed their practices and agreed to pay the back wages in full. Mainstreet Bakery agreed to pay the back wages through installments over a six-month period. Workers will be contacted by the Labor Department to verify their employment and current address. Twin City Bagel has already paid back wages due its employees.

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

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, 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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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.