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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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WILLIAMSBURG, Mich. -- The U.S. Department of Labor is looking for former employees of Cherry Blossom LLC in Williamsburg, a cherry processing plant that closed its doors in June without paying employees for their work in the last weeks of the company’s operations. The department has their money.
Alerted that hourly workers had not been paid for all days worked prior to the company stopping production, the Labor Department found that cherries processed by these workers had been shipped to a company based in Indianapolis, Ind., for sale and distribution to customers throughout the United States.
“We informed the buyer that it is illegal to sell goods worked on by employees who were not paid in compliance with federal wage laws,” said James Smith, district director of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division in Detroit, Mich. “Due to the investigation, the buyer agreed to pay $38,700 in back wages owed to workers at the plant.”
The department is asking that any individuals employed at Cherry Blossom LLC at the time the company ceased operations contact the Wage and Hour Division at 313-226-7448 to verify employment and to ensure their checks are mailed to the appropriate addresses.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets federal wage and overtime pay standards. It is a violation of section 15(a)(1), the “hot goods” provision of the FLSA, for any person to deliver, sell or ship in interstate commerce goods worked on by employees who were not paid in compliance with the federal minimum wage and overtime pay standards.
For more information on federal pay requirements or the provisions of the FLSA, visit the Wage and Hour Division’s Web site at http://www.wagehour.dol.gov or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
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