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Krispy Kreme: Hundreds of workers to receive over $1.1M for overtime violations

The doughnut and coffeehouse chain agree to future compliance at company's 242 U.S. locations.
Credit: AP
In this April 17, 2008, file photo, a customer picks up doughnuts at the drive through at a Krispy Kreme store in Matthews, N.C. Krispy Kreme is being taken private by JAB Beech in a deal announced Monday, May 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. agreed to pay $1,187,757 in back wages and liquidated damages to 516 workers to resolve overtime violations in multiple locations found as part of a U.S. Department of Labor Investigation. 

The department filed a complaint listing the violations and a consent order defining the settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. 

The department's Wage and Hour Division first opened an investigation at a Krispy Kreme location in Louisville, Kentucky and determined violations found there were widespread and systemic. The division then expanded its probe to include all the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company's 242 locations nationwide. 

It was discovered that Krispy Kreme failed to include monthly bonuses in some employees' regular rates of pay. The employer paid overtime at lower rates than the Fair Labor Standards Act requires.

The court order states that Krispy Kreme agreed to future compliance with the FLSA's overtime provision. 

"Overtime and minimum wage violations are common violations found in food service industry investigations," Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman explained. "Employers who fail in their obligation to pay minimum wage and overtime wages as the law requires make it harder for workers and their families to make ends meet. The Wage and Hour Division works diligently to inform employers of their obligations and protect the workplace rights of food service workers.” 

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. was established in 1937 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company has employed approximately 9,200 workers nationwide. 

The company’s network of retail doughnut shops, partnerships with third-party retailers, ecommerce and delivery services operates in more than 30 countries. 

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