CHICAGO — Deli processor Greenridge Farms Inc., based in Elk Grove, Ill., owes $3 million in back wages, damages and interest after allegedly denying 283 workers overtime pay.

A joint investigation by the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the Illinois Office of the Attorney General found that Greenridge paid the workers one rate for overtime, while the company is required by law to pay employees time and one-half for hours over 40 in a workweek.

The agencies determined that the company failed to pay overtime wages from 2013 to 2022.

Employees who worked overtime received a paycheck reflecting only 40 hours of work and were paid cash for any additional hours, according to the release from the attorney general’s office.

A news release from the DOL said that after the state subpoenaed records from Greenridge Farms, the agencies found that the employer sometimes used a second set of books to pay straight time for overtime hours.

The allegations made against Greenridge are a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law.

A consent decree was signed by Circuit Court Judge Michael Mullen of the Cook County, Chancery Division on Dec. 20. The decree stipulates that Greenridge pay the $3 million owed in installments from Dec. 1, 2023, through Oct. 1, 2025.

The attorney general’s office noted that the settlement allows employees to recover nearly 2.5 times their owed wages.