A warehouse operator on the United States side of the Mexican border got into big trouble by paying workers in pesos instead of dollars.
G-Global recently settled a claim brought by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, agreeing to pay 61 Mexican national employees $124,465 after being found to have paid the workers below minimum wage in pesos.
G-Global also agreed to pay an additional $10,456 for federal overtime violations to 59 of its employees who also worked at the company’s Otay Mesa, Calif., facility.
DOL reported that the investigation kicked off a Wage and Hour Division effort that will examine compliance at similar operations along the border.
This initiative was mounted after the division had determined, through outreach events and in interviews with employees, that G-Global’s practices appear to be widespread in the industry, the labor department noted.
“We recommend other warehouse employers along the border work with us to ensure employees are paid at least the minimum wage for the hours they work at facilities in the United States,” said Ruben Rosalez, Wage and Hour district regional director, based in San Francisco.
He said the department is encouraging warehouse operators to come forward and to participate in our PAID program to get themselves into compliance, while avoiding the expenses that could arise from becoming the target of litigation.
“We also urge employees to use our Workers Owed Wages online tool to see if the Wage and Hour Division is holding money due to them as a result of this case or any other of the agency’s investigations,” Rosalez recommended.