Coakley
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Tuesday that her office has cited a Norwood car dealership for not paying its employees properly for overtime work.
After an investigation by the attorney general's Fair Labor Division, Clay Family Dealerships, Inc., was cited for not paying a proper overtime rate to more than 100 of its employees. The company is now required to pay nearly $280,000 in restitution, as well as a $7,500 penalty to the Commonwealth.
"In these tough economic times, no one should be denied any wages that they have earned," Coakley said. "Our office will continue to fight on behalf of all workers in the Commonwealth to make sure that their rights are not violated."
The investigation began in February when complaints were received from a former employee about the nonpayment of wages.
This resulted in a company audit, with investigators determining that Clay Family Dealership was not compensating its employees properly for those working more than 40 hours a week. Normal practice in the state pays employees time-and-a-half for any hours over 40 worked in a week.
Clay Family Dealership's claimed the discrepancy arose from poor calculations and agreed to pay the restitution to the more than 167 former and current employees for the overtime work they performed from 2008 to the present.
The dealership cooperated fully with Coakley's office and the investigation throughout the entire process.