Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SEATTLE -- The U.S. Department of Labor has reached agreement with two El Mercado Latino specialty grocery outlets in Auburn and Lakewood, Wash., in which 31 butchers, taco makers and bakers will receive $35,000 in back wages for unpaid overtime as required under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Based on an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division, a complaint was filed in federal court alleging that the employers did not pay proper overtime and keep accurate records of hours worked by their employees. Under the law, when false or inaccurate records are provided to investigators or when records have been destroyed, the department may reconstruct the amount of back wages owed to employees based on other evidence, such as information provided by employees.

The investigation covered the period from November 2001 through January 2004.

A consent judgment ordering the payment of $35,000 in back wages and future compliance with the FLSA was filed April 5, 2004, in U.S. District Court.

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered more than $212 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2003 - a 21 percent increase over the record-setting amount in FY 2002. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2003 from 129 days to 108 days. WHD assessed employers nearly $10 million civil money penalties in FY 2003.

Under FLSA, employers must pay covered workers at a rate of at least one and one half times their regular rate of pay after 40 hours in a workweek and must maintain accurate records about employees, their hours worked and wages earned.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Labor Department'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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