What WHD says happened at Ford’s Stanton, Tennessee worksite

According to WHD, the contractor violated the FLSA’s overtime rules by not including incentive bonuses in the “regular rate of pay” when calculating overtime for 1,666 hourly employees working at Ford Motor Co.’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing campus in Stanton, Tennessee. WHD says this meant employees were not paid the full overtime premium for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

WHD Administrator Andrew Rogers said the State Group excluded bonuses from overtime calculations, averaging more than $1,000 in back wages owed to each employee.

Overtime basics: time-and-a-half after 40 hours

Under the FLSA, unless an employee is exempt, overtime pay is generally required for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, at a rate of not less than time and one-half of the employee’s regular rate.

What to do if you think WHD recovered wages for you

WHD says workers who think they may be owed back wages can use its Workers Owed Wages (WOW) tool to search for the employer and check whether money is owed to them.

• Search for your employer inside the WOW application.
• Verify your name to see if WHD shows wages owed to you.
• Submit contact information so WHD can send the Back Wage Claim Form.
• Upload the signed claim form and identity documents (WHD instructs claimants to create a login.gov account to upload documents).
• Wait for processing: WHD says claims are processed in approximately six weeks, and owed wages are then sent.

What employers can do next

WHD says employers and workers with questions can contact the division’s compliance assistance helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). WHD also points employers to opinion letters that address when certain payments must be included in an employee’s regular rate for overtime calculations, and notes it offers employers an opportunity to self-report potential violations through its PAID program.

This case is a practical reminder that overtime compliance isn’t only about tracking hours over 40—it also depends on how pay like incentive bonuses is handled when calculating the regular rate.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Labor (Wage and Hour Division) news release: $1.7M recovered for 1,666 overtime-denied workers (June 23, 2026)