“DEPARTMENT OF LABOR RECOVERS $167K FOR OREGON FARMWORKERS WHOSE EMPLOYER MISUSED EXEMPTION TO DENY OVERTIME PAY”

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $167,179 in back wages and liquidated damages for 43 workers employed by an Oregon agricultural grower and manufacturer who failed to pay overtime to the workers, some of whom worked as many as 75 hours per week.

Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Columbia Empire Farms Inc. misapplied an overtime pay exemption for agricultural workers for time they spent doing non-agricultural work. Specifically, the employer paid straight-time pay to the affected employees for all hours they worked both harvesting in fields and while performing non-agricultural work at a packing house.

In most cases, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek. The consequences for violators can be costly as the division recovers back wages and possibly damages for workers and assesses penalties depending on an investigation’s findings.

In addition to its overtime violations, Columbia Empire Farms did not pay wages when due as required. Under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, workers must be paid at least twice a month, but investigators learned the employer paid some workers monthly in violation of the law…