Press Release

Indiana Trucking Company Pays Back Wages to Worker Denied Paid Sick Leave While Experiencing Coronavirus Symptoms and Seeking Diagnosis

Issued by Wage and Hour Division [WHD], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

May 13, 2020

AVON, IN, May 12, 2020 -- A truck driver has received $3,017 in back wages after being denied emergency paid sick leave while he was experiencing coronavirus symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer – Mahant Trucking based in Avon, Indiana – violated the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

“Employers must take all necessary steps to comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and provide employees paid sick leave to care for themselves and family members when required,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Patricia Lewis, in Indianapolis, Indiana. “We encourage all employers to contact the Wage and Hour Division to better understand their responsibilities under this new law so that they can avoid similar violations.”

The FFCRA requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to the coronavirus. The department’s WHD administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. Learn more about the FFCRA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download an FFCRA poster.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services. Information is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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