Consent judgment orders California-based home appliance company to pay $800K to 339 employees denied overtime pay

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment requiring a home appliance company to pay $800,000 in back wages and damages to 339 employees after an investigation found the company violated federal wage laws.The judgment comes after the department’s Wage and Hour Division investigated Coway USA Inc. and found that the employer paid employees on a piece-rate basis and failed to pay employees for time spent attending mandatory meetings, picking up and loading supplies, and performing work before and after their shifts, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Investigators also found that Coway did not include nondiscretionary incentives, bonuses, and commissions in overtime pay calculations and frequently reduced the number of hours employees recorded working on their timecards.Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on Sept. 9, the consent judgment requires Coway to record all hours the implicated employees worked, including time they spend picking up supplies, attending mandatory training, and communicating with customers before and after appointments. Coway is also required to give employees pay statement...