TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. (WBTW) — A Timmonsville-based trucking company has been forced to pay 11 workers more than $51,000 after they were denied overtime pay, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

Investigators with the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division said the employees of Ard Trucking Co., Inc. were paid “straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours.” One of the employees, who no longer works for the company, got more than $15,000.

Failure to pay the time-and-a-half rate for the overtime hours is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Labor Department said.

The Labor Department said the trucking also required one employee to pay for uniforms when they resigned from the company causing the worker’s average hourly pay rate to drop below the federal minimum wage. The company also failed to keep a record of work hours for some employees, which is considered an FLSA recordkeeping violation.

“Not paying workers their full and legally earned wages is unethical and illegal,” said Jamie Benefiel, the Columbia district director of the Wage and Hour Division. “Employers must follow these standards and make sure their employees take home every cent they’ve earned. An employer’s failure to comply with the law can have costly consequences.”

In a news release, Angela Murphy, a former compliance and safety specialist at ARD Trucking, said she filed a complaint with the Labor Department after working more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay.

“My husband had been diagnosed with cancer and our medical expenses increased significantly,” she said. “As his illness worsened, I was working on-call after my regular shift and on weekends without additional pay,”

Frustrated, she said she began to consider her options.

“I read the Department of Labor’s poster at work and then went to the Wage and Hour Division’s website to file a complaint,” Murphy said. “The complaint process was easy and the investigator was amazing. He did a thorough and efficient job investigating the company. Most importantly, he took me seriously and kept his word by doing what he said he would do.”

Murphy said she had no regrets about taking action.

“My voice was heard and the company agreed to pay what my coworkers and I were due,” she said. “The money I received helped my family in many ways because my husband is still battling cancer. To say I am grateful is an understatement. I’m very thankful for the Department of Labor, especially the investigator who handled my case.”

She also encouraged others to do the same if they think they’re being treated unfairly.

“The Department of Labor truly is there to help workers,” she said. “They’ll put your needs first.”