U.S. Department of Labor investigators found that Samer Express LLC, a West Columbia, South Carolina, gas station and convenience-store retailer, failed to pay 29 employees overtime rates as required by law.
The employer paid straight time for all hours worked and failed to pay the overtime premium of time and one-half employees’ hourly rates for hours over 40 in a workweek, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hours Division said.
The department recovered $153,506 in back wages and liquidated damages for the affected workers, it said.
Samer Express was incorporated in South Carolina in January 2017. Efrain Sanchez owns the single location, according to a report by The Post and Courier, citing the state's business filings database. He also owns Sanchez Construction, it said.
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