Investigation found some employees paid as little as $2.03 per hour
CALEXICO, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a Calexico-based freight and cargo service company after a federal investigation found the employer denied minimum wage and overtime pay to 24 workers, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The agreement follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Expresso Forwarding Inc. and its affiliate, Agencia Aduanal Esquer Luken S.C., employed customs brokerage warehouse workers who traveled from Mexico to work at the company’s U.S. warehouse. The employers paid the workers in Mexican pesos at rates that equaled as little as $2.03 per hour, in violation of federal wage requirements. The investigation also found that workers were not paid required overtime rates for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
“Employers operating in the U.S. must understand that regardless of where they are headquartered, workers who perform work on this side of the border must be paid in accordance with U.S. labor laws,” said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers. “When a company pays wages in Mexican pesos that fall well below the U.S. minimum wage, it creates an unfair advantage over law-abiding employers and discourages U.S. workers from competing for those jobs. The Department of Labor will continue to use all legal avenues to ensure compliance in this industry."
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