DOL Finds Pay Practices Abusive to Warehouse Workers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s investigators and attorneys are working to prevent companies along the United States-Mexico border from exploiting Mexican workers. Wage and Hour Division investigators recently discovered three San Diego-area customs warehouses were violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.The employers, OMG Global Logistics, Atlas Freight Forwarding and Columbia Export Group PDSA, were ordered to pay approximately $2 million combined in minimum and overtime back wages to employees. It turns out the companies were paying wages as low as $2.50 per hour and also used Mexican affiliates to pay employees, making it appear as if they worked in Mexico rather than the United States. This took place in the San Diego neighborhood of Otay Mesa where some workers were making a daily international commute to work at warehouses. Columbia Export Group denied workers federal minimum wages and overtime premiums and ended up paying penalties to 60 employees.