PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania company that publishes business newsletters will pay about $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out while going on short breaks, including for the bathroom.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a federal judge has given the U.S. Department of Labor and the Malvern-based company, American Future Systems Inc., until Thursday to submit proposals on managing payment.
The company had argued that it wasn’t required to pay employees for short breaks.
“The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require companies to give workers short personal breaks – under 20 minutes. But if employers offer those breaks, they have to pay workers for them,” the Inquirer report said.
The bill includes back pay and damages to 6,000 employees at offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio between 2009 and 2013.
The Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in 2012 claiming the company violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act because employees weren’t earning minimum wage because the company required them to clock out for breaks.
