WV, a coal mine operator was sentenced to pay nearly $ 1.5 million in salary arrears and damages in a district court decision | WV News

PRINCETON – A US company that operates coal mines in southern West Virginia has been sentenced by a US district court to pay a total of nearly $ 1.5 million in salary and damage arrears -interest in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

An investigation by the Wage and Hour division of the US Department of Labor found that Princeton-based XMV Inc. – which operates three underground coal mines – violated the overtime provisions of the law, according to a report. Ministry release.

XMV will be required to pay $ 717,514 in back pay and an equivalent amount in liquidated damages to 214 employees.

The survey found that the company, paid electricians, surveyors, maintenance workers for the belt and ventilation and office workers, set fixed wages regardless of the number of hours worked, the statement said.

Employees who work more than 40 hours a week but are not paid for overtime are violations of overtime.

In addition, XMV did not include bonuses earned by workers when calculating overtime rates, which would translate into lower rates than legally earned, according to the statement. The company was also charged with failing to keep proper records for these employees.

"When an employer fails to ensure that its employees receive the wages they are legally owed under the FLSA, we must respond," said John DuMont, District Director of the Office of the Attorney General. Wage and Hour division of Pittsburgh. "This judgment illustrates the commitment of the US Department of Labor to ensure that employees receive all the wages they have legitimately earned and that employers compete on an equal footing."