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The U.S. Department of Labor found that the 7-Eleven on the corner of W. 7th Street and Summit Avenue owed employees overtime wages. (Sandra Sadek | Fort Worth Report)
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A Fort Worth 7-Eleven store in downtown Fort Worth failed to pay 21 employees fully for their hours worked, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. 

The employer, Gaston Group LLC, which operates the 7-Eleven at 1401 W. 7th St., owes nearly $56,000 in back wages, damages and penalties. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Gaston Group failed to accurately record overtime hours or pay hourly workers for overtime, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, resulting in minimum wage and overtime violations. 

The company will have to pay $20,914 in back wages, $20,914 in liquidated damages and $13,965 in civil money penalties. 

Back wages: When the employer pays the employee the difference between what he or she got paid and what he or she should have received.

Liquidated damages: An amount of money someone will owe if it breaches a contract to compensate the injured party for its losses.

Civil money penalties: A fine imposed on individuals or organizations that violate certain laws and regulations.

“Employees have to be paid for all hours actually worked, not just those that an employer schedules them to work,” said Jesus A. Valdez, wage and hour district director in Dallas, in a news release. 

In 2023, the Wage and Hour Division found more than $274 million in unpaid back wages for nearly 163,000 workers nationwide. 

The Department of Labor recently found more than $8 million in unpaid wages owed to over 12,000 Texas workers remain unclaimed.

Brian Golden, president of the Tarrant County Central Labor Council, said wage theft is among the most common type of theft. 

“It’s just wrong,” Golden said. “There’s more money that’s stolen from workers than anything else as far as stealing and theft.”

Several establishments in North Texas were found to owe overtime wages, including $68,000 in a Dallas restaurant and over $79,000 in wages and tips to workers at Sloan & Williams Winery in Grapevine. 

In Roanoke, the department found that Roanoke Hard Eight BBQ owed over $867,000 in tips and overtime to 910 workers, sharing those tips with hourly paid managers.