The US Department of Labor. has obtained a consent opinion for the recovery of $ 650,000 in unpaid overtime wages to 26 product delivery drivers employed by a Santa Fe Springs food manufacturer who misclassified them as independent contractors exempt from overtime fees.
The action of the US District Court for the Central District of California requires Romero’s Food Products Inc. to pay back wages to affected employees. The court also permanently banned future violations of the company Fair Labor Standards Act, including employing any worker for more than 40 hours in a work week without paying the required overtime pay. The court delivered a judgment in April 2023.
The department's litigation comes after an investigation by the Hours and Wages Division from the department that found that Romero’s Food Products denied overtime rates for more than 40 hours in a work week to drivers that the employer wrongly classified as independent contractors. The employer also did not keep accurate records of the employees. The company employed drivers to distribute its products to Walmart, Costco, Albertson’s, Stater Bros. Markets and other food outlets.
“ Fighting misclassification of employees remains a priority of the US Department of Labor ”, explained the deputy district director of the Gayane Aleksanian Hours and Wages Division in West Covina, California. “ Employers cannot illegally pay delivery men as independent contractors and defend this violation because it is common practice in the industry. Wrongly classifying employees in this way deprives them of their basic rights under labor law ”.
Investigators also discovered that Romero’s Food Products forced many workers to sign agreements so that possible labor disputes were handled out of court.
“ These types of agreements create significant barriers for workers seeking to recover their wages ”, said regional attorney Marc Pilotin in San Francisco. “ We are determined to help workers regain their full income, including employees subject to it mandatory arbitration clauses”.
Created in 1968, Romero’s Food Products Inc. manufactures, sells, and distributes Mexican-style food products in North America, Asia, and Europe.
The division's district office in West Covina conducted the investigation. The Department's Regional Attorney's office in San Francisco filed the case and obtained the judgment in the case.
Learn more about the Hours and Wages Division, including one search tool which you can use if you think the division owes you back wages. Businesses and employees can call the division confidentially to ask questions no matter where they come from. The department can speak confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency's free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE ( 487-9243 ). Download the new one Timesheet application from the agency for IOS and Android devices ( free and now also available in Spanish ) in order to guarantee that the hours worked and the remuneration are exact.
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