Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BOSTON -- Roche Bros. Supermarkets Inc., a Massachusetts chain, has agreed to pay 687 employees a total of $283,183 in back wages to resolve violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) alleged by the U.S. Department of Labor.

An investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division revealed that 17 supermarkets throughout Massachusetts, including three operating under the name Sudbury Farms, failed to pay overtime wages to certain employees, mostly during the period from Jan. 1, 2005, through Dec. 30, 2006.

“Our investigation found that, in many instances, the underpayments were the result of store managers editing the time cards of employees without good reason,” said George Rioux, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Boston District Office, which oversees Massachusetts. “Once these practices were brought to the attention of Roche Bros. upper management, the company cooperated fully in our investigation and pledged immediate changes to those practices.”

The company also agreed to pay all back wages found due.

The FLSA requires that covered workers be paid at least the applicable federal minimum wage and one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. The law requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. 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 fiscal 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.govand an interactive “e-laws advisor” providing detailed information about FLSA compliance is available at www.dol.gov/elaws/flsa.htm.

The Boston District Office of the Wage and Hour Division can be reached at 617-624-6700.

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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.