The U.S. Department of Labor said an American subsidiary of a Mexican-based baked goods company can not counter sue bakery drivers.
DOL is asking a federal court in Vermont to dismiss the case under the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to a March 21 DOL news release. Bimbo Bakeries USA, an entity of Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo, is being sued by their employees who say they should be looked upon as employees rather than independent contractors. The company is countersuing.
“Companies use counterclaims like this one to circumvent the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act," Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in the release. "These companies want to have it both ways – they want the benefits of not paying overtime wages and, if a court says they must pay under the FLSA, they want their employees to reimburse them for their own violations of the law. That is simply not allowed."
The employees allege the company owes them overtime back wages to which Bimbo Bakeries are counter suing wanting a refund from the money the workers worked for while they did jobs for the company, the release reported. Bimbo is among the biggest baking companies operating in America.
The Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor is claiming that under similar circumstances, courts have recognized countersuing hinders employees from proclaiming their FLSA rights, which involve the ability to partake in the department’s inquiries and enforcement cases, the release said. Should the court permit Bimbo Bakeries to counter sue, employees could be hesitant to assert their rights.
DOL said the FLSA, enforced by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, permits employers to submit these claims in court, according to the release. The FLSA provides assurances to employees concerning the right to question wage and hour questions, take part in DOL wage investigations and file private wage actions in federal court without repercussion from the company they are suing.
More than 50 manufacturing locations throughout the country are operated by Bimbo Bakeries USA under a dozen brands that include Arnold, Ball Park, Brownberry, Entenmann’s and Sara Lee, the release said. The Department of Labor’s regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston is prosecuting the case.
