U.S. Department of Labor issued the following announcement on Nov. 20.
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Gandy SNF LLC – a nursing facility based in Tampa, Florida – has paid $53,018 in back wages to 105 employees for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
WHD investigators that found Gandy SNF LLC – operating as Gandy Crossing Care Center – automatically deducted time from employees’ hours for meal breaks regardless of whether workers actually took those breaks. This practice resulted in violations when employees worked through their breaks, and went unpaid for that time.
“Employers have an obligation to pay their employees for all the hours that they work,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director James Schmidt, in Tampa, Florida. “Other employers who automatically deduct time for meal breaks should use this investigation as an opportunity to evaluate their practices to make sure they are capturing all their employees’ hours and not committing the same violation that we found in this case. The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that businesses that violate labor laws do not gain an unfair advantage over those that play by the rules.”
Original source can be found here.