U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Weston Mountain Onions, a Richland onion processing facility, denied employees the required overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. The underpaid employees unloaded, sorted, cleaned and cut whole onions, including onions from other growers, using mechanized and manual processes, then packed them for shipment.
Back wages recovered will amount to $44,736 in back wages for 49 employees; there will also be $44,736 in liquidated damages for 49 employees
The Wage and Hour Division credits collaboration with the Fair Work Center in Yakima for helping complete the investigation successfully. The center is driven by workers from low-wage industries across Washington who use education, relational organizing, and enforcement to raise wages and improve labor standards.
For more information:
Michael Petersen
U.S. Department of Labor
Tel.: +1 415-625-2630
[email protected]
Jose Carnevali
Tel.: +1 415-625-2631
[email protected]
