Auto shop withheld workers’ first paycheck, shortchanged overtime in Georgia, feds say

An auto shop and tire retailer in Georgia withheld the first paychecks of 19 employees and shortchanged them on overtime, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Cherokee Tire in Canton kept the workers’ first weekly paychecks as a uniform deposit, according to a news release from the agency.

The company also failed to pay some workers the required overtime rate of time-and-one-half when they worked more than 40 hours in a week, officials said.

Cherokee Tire did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.

Employers did not keep accurate records of hours worked or overtime premiums paid, the release said.

The agency recovered $161,983 in back pay and damages for the workers that had been shortchanged.

“When business owners fail to pay full wages for the work their employees do, these workers and their families must work harder to make ends meet,” Steven Salazar, the U.S. Department of Labor’s director for the wage and hour division district in Atlanta, said in a statement. “Employers who fail to meet their obligations to workers may find it difficult to retain and recruit the employees they need to make their businesses successful.”

Earlier this year, another auto company with locations in Georgia and South Carolina was required to pay $79,000 to 72 workers after a labor department investigation found overtime violations, the release said.

In 2021, the labor department’s wage and hour division recovered more than $4.3 million for more than 3,500 auto industry workers.

Canton is about 40 miles north of Atlanta.

This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Auto shop withheld workers’ first paycheck, shortchanged overtime in Georgia, feds say."