Repair Shop Claims Agri Exemption Over Overtime Rules

The attorney for a Craighead County company that has been accused of not paying overtime to its workers said the business was exempt from paying overtime.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a civil suit accusing Bailey Picker Repair and its owner, Burley Glen Bailey, of not paying overtime to its workers, according to the government’s lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Jonesboro.

Bailey Picker repairs agricultural equipment and power tools. It allegedly failed to pay overtime to 10 current and former employees.

The Department of Labor wants the defendants to pay $32,133 in back wages and an equal amount for damages.

Bailey’s attorney, Arlon Woodruff of Lake City, said in his response filed last week that the company doesn’t have to pay overtime because it has an agriculture exemption.

Woodruff asked that the case be dismissed.

While the Fair Labor Standards Act does have exemptions for overtime for workers involved in agriculture, the Labor Department said it didn’t apply in this case.

The investigators found that the mechanics rarely work on a farm for a farmer. Instead, they worked at Bailey Picker’s repair shop.