Federal court orders three customs warehouses to pay almost $2M in back wages, penalties
SAN DIEGO – While dozens of companies along the U.S. border in California hire workers from Mexico to labor as warehouse and logistics’ workers in scores of non-descript buildings, U.S. Department of Labor investigators and attorneys are also working hard – to prevent exploitation of these workers and hold employers accountable.
Since a landmark investigation of Premar Global Warehouse Logistics in September 2021, Wage and Hour Division investigators have found three more San Diego-area customs warehouses paying workers in Mexican pesos at an equivalent rate of as little as $2.50 per hour in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Based on these investigations, the department’s Office of the Solicitor reached consent judgments against the three employers – Columbia Export Group PDSA, OMG Global Logistics and Atlas Freight Forwarding – resulting in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ordering the companies to pay nearly $2 million combined in minimum and overtime back wages to 108 workers.
In addition, the companies are also ordered to pay a total of $56,675 in penalties given their reckless disregard of the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements.
“All employees working in the U.S. are entitled to the full protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Through our enforcement efforts, these San Diego employers...
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