PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Following a U.S. Department of Labor Investigation, a Pontiac grocer has been ordered to pay $95,000 in overtime back wages to 14 employees.
The investigation found that the employer of Pontiac's Carnival Market didn't properly pay cashiers, bakers and dishwashers legally earned wages. The grocer must now pay a total of $95,618 in back wages.
The employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay workers who completed more than 40 hours in a workweek. The owner instead paid workers straight time rates in unrecorded cash for their overtime hours, the investigation found. Additionally, the employer failed to record cash payments made to workers and didn't keep accurate records of the number of hours employees worked.
“Grocery workers are among the front-line, essential workers who have kept this country moving forward, and deserve to be paid every cent of their hard-earned wages,” said Wage and Hour Division District Dir. Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Unfortunately, violations like these are all too common in the grocery industry. Our enforcement actions protect workers, level the playing field for employers, and raise awareness of federal labor laws and protections among employers, workers, community organizations and others.”
