Coway USA Ordered to Pay $800K to 339 Workers Over Overtime Violations

A California-based subsidiary of a South Korean home appliance conglomerate must pay $800,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 339 workers following a federal labor investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.

The department's Wage and Hour Division found that Coway USA Inc. — a subsidiary of multinational firm Coway Co. Ltd. — violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to compensate employees for time spent at mandatory meetings, loading supplies, and completing tasks before and after scheduled shifts. Investigators further determined that the company excluded nondiscretionary bonuses, incentives, and commissions from overtime rate calculations and routinely altered employees' recorded hours.

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A consent judgment entered Sept. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California splits the $800,000 payment evenly — $400,000 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in damages — among workers in the Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C. metro areas. Coway USA also agreed to pay $10,000 in civil penalties for willful violations.

Under the terms of the judgment, Coway is now required to accurately track all hours worked, including supply pickup time, mandatory training, and pre- and post-appointment customer communications. Employees must also receive detailed pay statements reflecting hours worked, services rendered, and corresponding pay rates — compliance measures aimed at preventing future wage theft.

The case underscores ongoing federal enforcement scrutiny of piece-rate pay structures, which regulators say can obscure off-the-clock work obligations. Workers or employers with wage and hour questions can contact the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE. Continue reading at DOL News Releases and Briefs.