US-based motorcycle dealer The Collectible Trader LLC, doing business as National Powersports Distributors, has been fined $44,330 (£35,295.55) in back wages and damages following an investigation by the US Department of Labor.
The employer, based in Pembroke and Merrimack, New Hampshire, was found by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay adequate overtime wages.
The organisation has, as a result, paid $22,165 (£17647.77) in back wages, and a matching amount in liquidated damages, to a total of 59 current and former employees.
A practice of failing to count short breaks and meal periods as working time, when these periods caused employees’ total hours to exceed 40 per week, resulted in overtime violations. In addition, the organisation’s general sales manager was found to have altered payroll records to reflect a lower number of hours than certain members of staff at the Pembroke location had actually worked.
Daniel Cronin, New England district director, at the WHD in Manchester, New Hampshire, said: “Employees must be paid for all hours they work, including short rest periods. Management cannot permit employees to work without compensation.
“We encourage employers to contact our Manchester office to better understand the law and to avoid violations. Trained [WHD] professionals are available to speak with callers confidentially to answer their questions.”
National Powersports Distributors was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.