, violated both labor rights to minimum wage and overtime to the tune of $36,000 in backpay. That is $36,000 they didn't pay their employees in the last year.

No matter what state you are in, minimum wage and overtime laws are a universal requirement for legally employing staff. Any employee who works an hour of labor without being compensated at least the minimum wage is in direct violation of the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act).

Every employer in the nation knows and must know these laws.

Florida car dealership Step One Pensacola stole $36,000 in wages from employees.

How did the Step One car dealership steal so much money from its employees?

The wages fraud was perpetrated against 16 of the dealership's employees, averaging about $2,270 owed in back pay including both fair compensations for hours worked and exclusion of rights to overtime for non-exempt employees.

This wasn't just one oversight, this was a systematic denial of rights and wages to their car detailers and other employees using known fraudulent methods like misclassifying employee pay and purposefully overlooking minimum wage regulations.

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How did Step One's Pensacola car dealership steal 36K in wages from their employees?

MORE: Massive Car Insurance Fraud Ring in San Diego Scammed 12 Companies

Step One paid auto-detailers per vehicle without ensuring that the rate covered the minimum per-hour rate. This means that they used modular pay to prevent their detailers from earning a living wage, then prevented detailers from being paid overtime (time and a half) when their work went beyond 40 hours in a week.

For other employees, they misclassified their pay schedule, paying a flat "salary" in order to deny paying even a cent for overtime hours. Exempt (salaried) employees have personal freedom and in return are paid for a flat 40 hours whether they work more or less.

Non-salaried workers are paid for every hour they work, and at time-and-a-half, if those hours exceed 40.

When Step One Pensacola did pay overtime, they did not calculate that their worker's pay scale is balanced by bonuses. They only paid time-and-a-half for workers’ flat wages, not their actual take-home for a non-overtime week.

These are intentional and insidious ways to nickel-and-dime employees out of thousands in their hard-earned wages. Both violating minimum wage standards and scheming in multiple ways to cut overtime "expenses" is why the Step One, Pensacola dealership owes over $2,000 to each of 16 different victimized employees..

What the future holds for domestic labor practices and the transportation industry

Here in the US, we make a big deal about labor laws because they are the backbone of our country and our national pride in liberty and freedom for all.

Abusive labor practices allowed to run rampant undermine that strength and weaken our drawing power for both local labor and the appeal of partnering for offshore production and

international labor relations

Crackdowns like the one we saw in Pensacola are essential for three important reasons. First, it's good to see justice for victims of wage fraud. Second, it shows our industry and partners that we take fair labor seriously. Finally, it sets an example for other abusive managers that this kind of fraud won't go undetected or unpunished.

Reliable insurance with Jerry

Fortunately, for every bad apple, there are a dozen car dealerships that treat their sales staff, detailers, and service teams with respect and dignity. If you are about to buy a new or used car with a respectable local car dealership, check out

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