Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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BALTIMORE, MD -- James Whipple, co-owner of Loch Haven Amoco, Edgewater, Md., was found guilty of second degree assault against an investigator from the U.S. Labor Department’s Baltimore Wage and Hour District Office. The ruling was recently handed down by Judge Megan Johnson in the District Court of Maryland, Annapolis.

Criminal charges were filed by the State of Maryland after Whipple physically assaulted the Labor Department employee on April 6, 2004. The Wage and Hour employee was conducting an investigation of Loch Haven Amoco to determine the company’s compliance with the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

As a first time offender, Whipple was placed on probation for one year. Whipple is required to meet all conditions of probation until October 26, 2005. A fine and costs were also assessed by the Court against Whipple.

The Wage and Hour investigation determined the company was in violation of the FLSA for failing to pay 19 employees overtime, resulting in $7,178 in back wages due. Whipple and Loch Haven Amoco have agreed to pay to the employees all of the back wages computed by Wage and Hour for the overtime violations.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered employees be paid one-and-one half times their regular rates of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single work-week, and requires that employers maintain adequate records of employees’ wages, hours and other condition of employment.

For more information on federal pay requirements or other provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, visit the agency’s website at www.wagehour.dol.gov, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) or the Baltimore Wage and Hour Division at (410) 962-2240.

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