Indiana-based vehicle parts manufacturing organisation Lippert Components has been ordered to pay $338,151 (£258,959.42) in overtime back pay and liquidated damages following an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).
Investigators uncovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) relating to 1,199 current and former employees at 53 of the organisation’s plants across the United States.
The investigation found the employer had failed to include certain bonuses when calculating overtime rates, resulting in artificially lowered pay and violations of the FLSA.
In September 2016, Lippert Components began including bonuses in employees’ regular rates of pay in overtime. However, the employer failed to make any retroactive payments, meaning it now has to pay back wages for previous pay periods.
Patricia Lewis, WHD district director, said: “Employers have an obligation to understand and to comply with the labour laws applicable to their business.
“We encourage employers to make use of the many tools we provide to help them, and to contact the Wage and Hour Division for assistance to ensure they understand their obligations.”
Lippert Components was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
