Grocery store employees get $500,000 for unpaid overtime
Employees of Farm Country, a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York, will receive approximately $9,000 each to settle a dispute regarding unpaid overtime, according to the New York Daily News. The 63 workers involved in the case say there were denied premium pay for time and attendance beyond 40 hours in a week, while they also allege they didn't receive minimum wage for all of their hours worked.
“We worked because we needed the job, but at the same time ... we need what is fair,” Ruban Guardado, a Farm Country employee, told the source. “We don’t have to put up with making less than is fair.”
Guardado said he received minimum wage, but other employees said they were paid just $4.52 per hour, far below the federally mandated $7.25 rate. However, he was one of the employees who was forced to work more than 12 hours a day and in excess of 40 hours per week without receiving premium pay rates (time-and-a-half the standard rate).
In addition to labor rights violations for minimum wage and overtime pay, grocery stores are often vulnerable to youth labor rights disputes. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not allow grocery stores to employ any workers under the age of 14, but older youth can perform non-hazardous jobs, such as bagging food items or stocking shelves, which do not require the use of power-driven machines.
Employers can demonstrate their labor practices are in compliance with the FLSA by keeping accurate documentation of all employee work time. Using an advanced payroll processing system, businesses can make sure to meet recordkeeping standards.
“We worked because we needed the job, but at the same time ... we need what is fair,” Ruban Guardado, a Farm Country employee, told the source. “We don’t have to put up with making less than is fair.”
Guardado said he received minimum wage, but other employees said they were paid just $4.52 per hour, far below the federally mandated $7.25 rate. However, he was one of the employees who was forced to work more than 12 hours a day and in excess of 40 hours per week without receiving premium pay rates (time-and-a-half the standard rate).
In addition to labor rights violations for minimum wage and overtime pay, grocery stores are often vulnerable to youth labor rights disputes. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not allow grocery stores to employ any workers under the age of 14, but older youth can perform non-hazardous jobs, such as bagging food items or stocking shelves, which do not require the use of power-driven machines.
Employers can demonstrate their labor practices are in compliance with the FLSA by keeping accurate documentation of all employee work time. Using an advanced payroll processing system, businesses can make sure to meet recordkeeping standards.
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