Federal Judge Orders Promo Supplier to Pay $189,756 in Back Wages, Damages

American Made Bags LLC has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $189,756 in back wages and damages to 48 employees.

Two federal investigations uncovered multiple illegal pay practices, according to a Department of Labor release. The first investigation found that American Made Bags LLC misclassified some employees as independent contractors and did not pay them accurate overtime wages at one-and-a-half the normal hourly rate.

A federal judge ordered American Made Bags LLC in Akron and its owner to pay a total of $189,756 in back wages and damages to 48 employees after 2 separate federal investigations found numerous illegal pay practices. https://t.co/mG514rKFwP

— WHD_DOL (@WHD_DOL) March 8, 2022

After that investigation, the company agreed to pay $47,457 in back wages, but did not complete all of those payments.

The second investigation again dealt with violation of overtime rules, as well as misrepresenting pay practices to investigators. This investigation ended with a ruling that 24 more employees were due $46,797 in back wages.

“Employers must ensure they understand wage laws and fully comply with them,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Dieera Fitzgerald in Columbus, Ohio, to the Department of Labor document. “After our first investigation at American Made Bags LLC, the company agreed to change their pay practices and comply with the law. We discovered, however, they failed to live up to that agreement, stopped paying overtime and once again shortchanged their workers. The Wage and Hour Division will not tolerate disregard for the law and attempts to cheat workers out of their hard-earned wages.”