The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has obtained a consent judgment in federal court ordering California noodle manufacturer and distributor Rama Food Manufacture Corp., and two company officers, to pay 36 current and former employees $195,400 in back wages and liquidated damages.
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Get Your Report Now!The judgment resolves an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the company willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime and recordkeeping provisions.
The company allegedly paid employees straight time for all hours worked and did not receive an overtime premium for hours worked beyond 40 per week, as required by the FLSA. In addition, the investigators reported that the employer violated the FLSA’s recordkeeping provision by failing to create and maintain required time and payroll records.
“Liquidated damages will double every dollar the employer failed to pay when those wages were originally due. That provides some justice for these workers and helps to level the playing field for employers who are paying their workers properly,” said Eric Williams, assistant director of the Wage and Hour Division’s West Covina District Office in the DOL news release.
In addition to requiring the payment of the back wages and liquidated damages, the consent judgment enjoins the defendants from violating the FLSA in the future and requires them to pay $13,464 in civil money penalties. Rama Food is also required to provide annual employee training on federal labor laws and must display a notice of the department’s findings in both English and Spanish in areas highly visible to employees.