One of Berks County’s largest employers will be forced to pay more than $22 million to more than 7,500 of its employees.
East Penn Manufacturing Co., a battery manufacturer in Lyons Station near Kutztown, was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to pay its workers for all of their working time, resulting in overtime violations. Federal law requires employers to include all hours employees worked and to pay an overtime premium for hours over 40 in a workweek.
“This verdict of more than $22 million is a long-overdue victory for more than 7,500 workers at East Penn Manufacturing,” U.S. Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Federal law requires employers to pay workers for the hours they work, including time these workers needed to protect themselves from dangerous workplace hazards.”
The overtime and record-keeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act occurred from October 2014 through September 2017. A lawsuit was filed in 2018. A 12-member jury made the award after a 30-day trial.
The Labor Department said the company typically paid workers only for their eight-hour scheduled shift. The employer did not pay for additional time employees needed to put on and remove protective equipment and to shower to avoid the dangers of lead exposure and other hazards.
The department said it intends to ask the court to award an equal amount in liquidated damages for the affected...
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