As the world focuses on supply chains, (un)timely delivery and empty store shelves, now most certainly isn't the time for freight companies to abuse its employees, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a recent news release.
Boone Logistics Services apparently didn't get that memo and now will have to pay $127,567 in overtime back wages to 31 employees at its Lancaster, Texas distribution center, DOL said in its Monday, Nov. 29, news release.
The COVID-driven economic downturn has helped many Americans understand that getting goods and services depends on trucking logistics industry workers but the Boone Logistics example is not unique, according to the news release.
The Lancaster, Texas Boone Logistics Services workers who now will get back overtime pay are yard hostlers, those who move truck trailers, and fill and empty containers around work sites, as well as in and out of loading docks.
"Too often, logistics industry workers – particularly those who work in the yard – are illegally denied the overtime they are due," Wage and Hour Division District Director Jesus A. Valdez, based in Dallas, said in the news release. "Boone Logistics has a responsibility to comply with the law and ensure that workers are paid all of their hard-earned wages."
The industry's employers should "review their pay practices to be certain they comply with federal requirements," Valdez said.
Boone Logistics Services, which maintains offices in Atlanta and St. Petersburg, Florida, in addition to distribution centers nationwide, claimed the Lancaster workers "were not entitled to overtime pay due to the nature of their work," the news release said. DOL said that was wrong and led the investigation that found the yard hostlers had been routinely paid only straight time, even when they worked more than 40 hours a workweek. That is a clear violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the news release.
The DOL is not the only organization to hear about Boone Logistics Service's lack of overtime pay. The online job search website Indeed currently rates Boone Logistics Services 1.9 stars out of 5, with most reviewers reporting that the company does not pay for overtime its employees work. The company also does not offer benefits, provide raises or offer paid holidays, most of the Indeed reviewers report about Boone Logistics Services.
DOL encourages workers to contact its wage and hour division with confidential questions, regardless of immigration status. The department is staffed by people who speak with callers in more than 200 languages.
