Foreign students to receive back pay for minimum wage and overtime violations
The United States Department of Labor recently announced it reached a settlement with three companies that were accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by underpaying foreign students for their time and attendance. More than $213,000 in back wages has been recovered from The SHS Group, the council for Educational Travel-USA and Exel Inc.
The money from the settlement will be dispersed among 1,028 students who were working in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, performing factory work for facilities that packaged Hershey's Chocolates. An investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour Division found the employers were charging exchange students too much money to stay in lodgings at the facility, to the point at which their employee attendance earnings fell below minimum wage, which is currently set at $7.25 per hour.
In addition to the settlement and back wages, the employers have agreed to bring their payroll practices into compliance through a program that supports better oversight and avenues for students to lodge complaints if violations occur again.
"We are pleased by the efforts Exel in particular will be making to ensure future compliance," said Nancy Leppink, deputy administrator of the department's Wage and Hour Division. "The decision of these companies to play by the rules is a positive step that will ensure that workers are treated fairly, as is legally required."
The money from the settlement will be dispersed among 1,028 students who were working in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, performing factory work for facilities that packaged Hershey's Chocolates. An investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour Division found the employers were charging exchange students too much money to stay in lodgings at the facility, to the point at which their employee attendance earnings fell below minimum wage, which is currently set at $7.25 per hour.
In addition to the settlement and back wages, the employers have agreed to bring their payroll practices into compliance through a program that supports better oversight and avenues for students to lodge complaints if violations occur again.
"We are pleased by the efforts Exel in particular will be making to ensure future compliance," said Nancy Leppink, deputy administrator of the department's Wage and Hour Division. "The decision of these companies to play by the rules is a positive step that will ensure that workers are treated fairly, as is legally required."
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