Belle company to pay $55,000 to settle labor claims

CHARLESTON -- A Belle-based coal sampling and analysis company has will pay $55,000 in back wages and damages to settle allegations that it violated federal labor law.

Mineral Labs of Belle and President Paul Lyon agreed on Aug. 9 to pay the money to 95 workers. The agreement settles a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court in Charleston by the U.S. Department of Labor.

An official with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division told The Associated Press that the violations occurred because employees were docked 30 minutes per day for lunch periods even though their work duties prevented them from taking an uninterrupted lunch where no work duties were performed. Mineral Labs also allegedly failed to maintain adequate wage and hour records.