LYNDHURST, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in a federal court in New Jersey to recover $910,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 289 employees of a Lyndhurst staffing agency whose pay practices deprived them of hard-earned overtime wages.
The court action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined Advantix Logistics Corp. and owner Michael Mortorano paid warehouse employees a combination of hourly and piece rates but did not include an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek. The work of the employees the agency provided included loading and unloading freight from containers and pallets for upwards of 70 hours per week at warehouses. The employer also failed to keep accurate records of employees’ hours worked. These actions violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“Our investigation found that Advantix Logistics Corp.’s pay practices shortchanged nearly 300 people employed by the staffing agency,” explained Wage and Hour District Director Paula Ruffin in Mountainside, New Jersey. “Employers must pay employees all of their rightfully earned wages or face costly consequences when they don’t. We encourage employers to contact us with questions or concerns about their pay practices.”
The consent judgment and order entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey requires the company and its owner to pay $455,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.
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