The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered over $153,000 in back wages and damages from a South Carolina store that denied overtime pay to its workers. The employer, Samer Express LLC, located at 295 Glenn Road, West Columbia, SC 29172, was found by the department's investigators to have failed to pay 29 employees the overtime rates required by law.
Specifically, the employer paid straight time for all hours worked and did not pay the premium for overtime which is 50% more than the employees' hourly rates for hours exceeding 40 in a workweek. This was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
A total of $153,506 was recovered for the affected workers. "The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers receive every dollar they earned," said Jamie Benefiel, District Director of the Wage and Hour Division in Columbia, South Carolina. "Not paying the appropriate rate for all hours employees work is an infringement that employers can and should avoid. We encourage employers who have questions to reach out to us for compliance assistance and to understand their obligations towards their employees."
Samer Express LLC is a warehouse that also offers gasoline and food to consumers. The establishment was incorporated in South Carolina in January 2017.
Both employers and workers can confidentially contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions at their toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE, regardless of their origin, and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. More information about the Wage and Hour Division including a fact sheet on overtime requirements of wage laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act can be found on their website. Workers and employers can help track work hours and payment by downloading the department's free Android and iOS timekeeping app available in English and Spanish.
