On June 1, 2010, the Department of Labor announced that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff’s Office in Phoenix, AZ agreed to pay $2,059,807 to 1,690 detention officers and sergeants for unpaid pre-shift meetings.  The meetings were daily and the amount awarded covers time worked from November 1, 2007 to March 4, 2009. 

The employment attorneys at The Employment Law Group® law firm have extensive experience recouping unpaid wages and fighting for employees who are misclassified as exempt from overtime.  To learn more about the firm’s Unpaid Wages and Overtime Practice, click here.

On June 14, 2010, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced that it secured payment of more than $4.2 million in back wages for workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Umatilla, Oregon.  The wages are owed to 603 employees.  Among the offenses by the employer were deductions for lunch breaks that the employees were unable to take. 

The employment attorneys at The Employment Law Group® law firm have extensive experience recouping unpaid wages and fighting for employees who are misclassified as exempt from overtime.  To learn more about the firm’s Unpaid Wages and Overtime Practice, click here.

On June 16, 2010, the Department of Labor issued its second Administrator’s Interpretation of 2010, defining “clothes” under section 3(o) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C § 203(o).   Under this new Interpretation, “clothes” refers to apparel and not protective safety equipment generally worn over one’s clothes.  Employees required by law to don and off protective gear must be paid for the time spent doing so.  A copy of the Administrator’s Interpretation is available here.

The employment attorneys at The Employment Law Group® have extensive experience prosecuting claims for unpaid wages including individual claims and class actions.  To learn more about TELG’s Non Payment of Wages Practice, click here.

On June 3, 2010, the Department of Labor announced that Tyson Foods has agreed to pay employees for donning and doffing protective wear as well as time spent washing and sanitizing themselves and their gear.  Tyson Foods also agreed to compensate employees for the time spent walking and waiting that occurs throughout the workday.  In addition, Tyson Foods will pay $500,000 in overtime back wages to 3,000 employees at its Blountsville, Alabama plant. 

For more information about the Fair Labor Standards Act and The Employment Law Group® law firm’s Unpaid Overtime Practice, click here.