A Louisiana wholesale supplier of crayfish and seafood products has been fined almost $250,000 by the U.S Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
According to reports, the company was charged with failure to pay minimum wages and overtime to employees and making illegal deductions from the employees’ wages for the cost of gloves, hairnets and aprons, all required for workers to properly do their jobs. The company was also charged with severe safety violations, including a lack of fire extinguishers, blocked exists, insufficient eyewash stations and dangerous electrical wiring. The company was also fined for failing to maintain an OSHA 300 log, which documents employees’ illnesses and injuries.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires certain employees to receive one-and-a-half times their usual wage (overtime pay) for each hour worked over 40 hours per week. In Louisiana, as elsewhere in the country, (nonexempt) workers must be paid for all time spent on the job, including suiting up in uniforms, participating in safety meetings, putting away equipment and tools and performing similar work-related activities. Deductions from an employee’s wages for equipment necessary to do their job are prohibited.
If you are not receiving overtime pay or are subject to illegal wage deductions, you should contact an experienced employment attorney to make sure you are receiving the compensation to which you are entitled.
