Turkey plant contests fine for violating employee attendance compensation laws

Earlier this year, Texas-based Hill Country Farms was ordered to pay $1.76 million in overtime back wages and damages for repeatedly violating time and attendance compensation requirements set by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The infractions, which occurred at a Henry's Turkey Service plant in eastern Iowa, involved 31 mentally disabled workers, according to The Associated Press. The workers were forced to put in more than 40 hours a week of employee attendance - often off the clock - without being paid overtime. Additionally, the compensation they received did not meet minimum wage standards, and accurate timekeeping records were not kept.

Specifically, the employees received $65 per month - the maximum they could receive without their Social Security benefits being reduced, the news source notes.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller recently announced that the state will not be pursuing criminal charges against Henry's or Hill Country Farms because the civil and administrative penalties levied by other agencies are sufficient. However, the owners of Henry's are appealing their $2.8 million fine on the grounds that they can't afford to pay it, according to the Des Moines Register.