DoL Hits CVS for FLSA Violations

December 12, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) has slapped CVS Pharmacy with $226,598 in fines and ordered the national drugstore chain to pay $38,151 in back wages for violating federal labor law.

A DoL news release said regulators took the action against the Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based company after an investigation into violations of the wage and youth employment provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The latest probe by the DoL Wage and Hour Division was sparked by the findings of earlier investigations which suggested possible FLSA violations, the announcement said. The new investigative effort focused on 63 CVS stores, in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

According to the DoL, 43 stores had FLSA wage and/or youth employment violations:

  • 78 minors were found to have been exposed to the hazards of loading/unloading/operation of cardboard compactors;
  • seven minors were found to have been employed in violation of the law’s time standards; and
  • 51 employees were found to be due a total of $38,151 in back wages, mostly because of the improper editing of their timecards by store managers.

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