BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — A recent investigation by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $353,141 for workers at two poultry catching companies.

The division found Native Poultry LLC in Enterprise, Ala., and Poultry Labor Solutions Inc. in Newton, NC, who share ownership, did not pay proper overtime wages at the additional half-time premium pay to 322 employees who were working as catchers, loaders and leads.

DOL also said it found that employers were only paying overtime premium rates for weekend work and not when employees worked over 40 hours during a typical work week. According to the investigation, this violated the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The workers in these cases handle an important step in food operations that is not mechanized, and their labor is essential to the industry,” said Juan Coria, regional administrator for the DOL in Atlanta, Ga. “More than 100 birds can be processed by hand every 30 minutes, so the teams employed there can face difficult conditions. Employers like Native Poultry and Poultry Labor Solutions have a legal obligation to make sure their employees — people who help put food on our tables — are paid their full earned wages,” added Coria.”

The catching companies support the poultry growing and processing operations of Wayne Farms LLC, in Dothan, Ala., and Case Farms LLC, in Troutman, NC.