Federal Government Recovers $5.5M For Underpaid N.J. Gas Attendants

MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - The federal government says it has collected $5.5 million for 1,100 New Jersey gas station attendants who were denied minimum wage and overtime payments.

The payments go back to a 2010 initiative by the federal Labor Department, which found widespread underpayments to the employees around the state.

"It's been an ongoing effort," John Warner said, district director of the labor department's wage and hour division in northern New Jersey.

Over the five-year period, the repayments have come to $5,000 per worker.

Last year, an estimated 100 attendants received about $3,000 each, WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported.

"A lot of the problem is overtime payment," Warner said.

The reasons for the overtime payment being lack of workers, Putney reported.

"It's not easy to get workers to do that kind of work, it's outside, it's not pleasant," Warner said.

Gas station attendants are a rare sight elsewhere, but they're at every station in New Jersey. New Jersey and Oregon are the only states that don't let motorists pump their own gas.

Those that paid out attendants include BP, Exxon, Shell and other leading brand stations, many of which Warner said started hiring more workers who will work to avoid having to pay overtime.

The government says it will continue to monitor New Jersey stations.

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