Providien Injection Molding Inc. paid 44 workers pesos at fraction of minimum wage
CARLSBAD, CA – A federal investigation has recovered $465,993 in back wages and liquidated damages for 44 employees of a California medical injection molding manufacturer who denied them their legally earned wages, including overtime, by incorrectly classifying many as trainees.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined Providien Injection Molding Inc. paid a flat weekly salary in Mexican pesos to technicians who traveled from the company’s Tijuana, Mexico, location to work at its Carlsbad facility.
Investigators found the employer paid technicians as little as $3.29 per hour, a violation of minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, the division learned Providien violated federal overtime regulations by not paying overtime wages to technicians who worked an average of 45 hours each week. The employer also failed to maintain accurate time and payroll records as required.
The investigation also found Providien classified the technicians as trainees for the nearly 16 months they worked at the Carlsbad facility as the company prepared to relocate its manufacturing facility to Tijuana.
The division recovered $217,402 in overtime back wages for all 44 of the affected workers, and an additional $15,594 in minimum wages owed to 13 workers by the employer, plus $232,996 in liquidated damages for all 44 affected workers. The...
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