Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- More than two dozen low-wage workers at the Yen Ching, a Grand Rapids restaurant, have received a total of $41,821 in unpaid overtime wages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that determined the company had violated the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Labor Department’s investigation revealed that workers were paid a semi-monthly salary covering all hours, with no overtime premium, in violation of the FLSA. The company agreed to pay the back wages and cooperated fully with the investigation.

“The department is committed to ensuring that all workers receive all wages that they have earned,” said James Smith, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s district office in Detroit.

The investigation covered the period from July 2003 to July 2006, and also revealed recordkeeping violations of the FLSA in that the restaurant did not maintain any records of hours worked.

The FLSA requires employees to be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a week unless the employee is exempt from overtime pay. The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain job duty and salary tests. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.

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 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 14 percent since year 2001.

For more information, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet atwww.wagehour.dol.gov. Information about the current exemption can be found on the Internet athttp://www.dol.gov/fairpay.

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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.