$4 million in overtime wages owed to 650 workers has been recovered through an agreement reached by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) and Nestle Waters N.A. as a result of the Department's enforcement efforts. The Department is distributing the funds to the workers to whom the wages were due.

The $4 million in wages along with $400,000 in penalties and fees is the second highest amount recovered from a single employer by the Department's Division of Wage and Hour Compliance. In 2004, the Department reached a settlement with Pepsi-Cola totaling $28.5 million in back pay, penalties and fees following a protracted dispute over enforcement of the State's wage and hour laws.

Under New Jersey law, employers must pay wages of one-and-a-half times the regular pay rate for time that employees work beyond 40 hours in a week. Nestle Waters, N.A., had classified drivers as sales staff who would not normally be entitled to overtime pay.

The average payment amounted to around $6,000, although some workers were owed as much as $20,000.

...back to 12 January 2005

Further information:
$4 million in overtime wages recovered by department of labor and workforce development for workers of Nestle Waters N.A.

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