It CAN Happen to You

“You always write about the potential fines and penalties that I could be subject to if I don’t do this or that. While it’s good to know, I really don’t think that kind of stuff happens to smaller companies. After all, both the state and feds have bigger fish to fry, right?”

My HR Survival Tip

Tell that to the Vista company, Cookies con Amore, that was assessed $185,000 in wage violations. This was a company that did numerous things wrong, on a continuous basis. Let’s break it down:

• They didn’t pay overtime even though the employees worked 10+ hours. — As I’m sure you know, overtime kicks in after 8 hours unless you have an Alternate Workweek schedule registered with the state.
• They only provided one 30-minute break each day. — While that might have covered the meal break, they didn’t provide the required 2 10-minute rest breaks or a second meal break and additional rest breaks for those working over 10 hours. Each employee should receive 1-2 hours of penalty pay every day they didn’t get those rest breaks or second meal break.
• They didn’t always pay minimum wage. — There is no legal way around paying minimum wage to hourly employees except moving to a state with a lower minimum wage… it’s called the minimum for a reason.
• Some of the employees were forced to sign a statement agreeing to the above wage violations. — An employee can’t be forced to sign away his/her right to money legally owed by the employer. The employee might agree to settle with the company for less than they are owed but that’s assuming you’re cleaning things up.
• Some of the employees were required to sign a written agreement allowing substandard working conditions (or they weren’t hired or were fired). — There are two words we know that describe this… sweat shop.

The affected workers were awarded a total of $51,444 in overtime wages and $69,221 in rest and meal break penalties, plus the company was hit for $63,800 in civil penalties. Never forget that a wage-related investigation can look back 4 years from the date of a claim. That means it’s rarely about one employee; it’s also about how many other times you’ve done it and whether or not you were “willful” (did it on purpose).

You don’t have to be big to be noticed if you’re treating your employees badly. Eventually someone will blow the whistle.