Sterling Jewelers to Pay Us$1.3 Million in Back Wages

Sterling Jewelers Inc., of Akron, Ohio, has agreed to pay US$1,291,077 in back wages to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) overtime requirements, says a spokesman for the Labor Department. Sterling, which conducts business under 14 retail names around the country, agreed to pay the back wages to 16,820 current and former employees of its retail stores operating at 1,200 locations in 41 states.

"This administration is committed to ensuring that employers honor their obligation to pay their workers all the wages they have earned. In this case, we are recovering nearly US$1.3 million dollars for almost 17,000 workers and making certain that they are properly compensated in the future,� says ," U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

The company failed to include incentive pay in the calculation of overtime and it failed to pay employees for all hours worked, which the employees had entered using the firms electronic timekeeping system. Each of those violations contributed to workers being paid less than time and one-half their regular pay for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek as required by the FLSA. The back wage payments cover the period from Nov. 2, 2003 to Feb. 25, 2006.