TIFTON, Ga. — The Tifton Peanut Company has been ordered to pay $55,323 in back overtime wages to 46 employees, according to an US Department of Labor press release.

The release references an investigation into overtime and record keeping practices at Tifton Peanut.

Investigators found the company paid 46 employees regular wages for overtime hours instead of time-and-a-half pay.

The company failed to include the hours employees worked at a secondary site for the company when calculating overtime pay, the release states.

The company also neglected to maintain the required time and payroll records, according to the release.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that all employees receive the proper wages for all the hours they have worked,” said Eric Williams, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Atlanta, in the release. “The outcome of this investigation serves as a reminder to all employers to review their pay practices to confirm that workers are being paid as the law prescribes, and that we will continue to work to level the playing field for employers who play by the rules.”

The Tifton Gazette has reached out to Tifton Peanut Company for comment.