A watermelon packer working out of Knox County has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars in back wages.
The U.S. Department of Labor released a statement Thursday afternoon on the judgment against Indian Hills Produce and owner John Toth.
An investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that in 2013, Indian Hills violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay 14 workers overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week. According to the press release, the defendants paid workers at a Vincennes facility on a piece-rate basis, without regard to how many hours they worked to pack watermelons from growers around Indiana and elsewhere.
As part of the resolution, Indian Hills has paid 14 workers a total of $58,226. This amount includes $29,113 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Indian Hills has also paid $15,400 in civil money penalties for willful violations of the FLSA.
District Director for the Wage and Hour Division in Indianapolis, Patricia Lewis says, “the resolution of this case should send a strong message to other employers who attempt to deny workers their rightful wages that the division will use every enforcement tool available to end the exploitation and unfair treatment of vulnerable agricultural workers.”
She says a “fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay.”
Indian Hills is based out of Groveland, Florida.