Company stiffed chicken catchers on overtime pay in SC, now owes $96k, feds say
A chicken wrangling company in South Carolina owes employees more than $96,000 in back pay for overtime, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The company paid employees piecemeal for catching chickens and loading them into trucks, but still should have paid overtime when they worked more than 40 hours a week, federal officials said in a news release.
“Quintanilla Poultry LLC paid its chicken catchers a piece rate, based on the number of loads of chickens each crew caught, without regard to the number of hours that they worked,” the department said.
The company owes back pay to 55 employees for overtime.
The company also did not pay crew leaders for overtime and did not keep records for employee hours, according to officials.
“Some employers mistakenly believe that paying employees by piece rate or on a salary automatically means that they do not have to pay them overtime,” Jamie Benefiel with the Department of Labor said in the release.
“We encourage employers to use the many tools we offer to learn about their responsibilities under the law, and to understand the requirements for employees paid in different manners. We also encourage employers to contact us directly with questions.”
