The U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL) has announced a settlement with McLane Co., Inc., under which the Texas-based
food and grocery distributor will pay $1,559,316 in back wages to 570
employees. A DOL investigation found that the company misclassified employees as
exempt and thus didn’t pay overtime wages. McLane erroneously regarded retail
merchandising specialists as outside sales employees exempt from Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) overtime coverage, according to the DOL. Also, McLane didn’t
maintain required records of hours worked.
Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts
Only one thing really matters in the determination as to whether or not an employee is exempt: The duties the employee performs. Learn how to avoid costly, preventable mistakes with our free White Paper, Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption Concepts.