THOMASVILLE, GA. — Flowers Foods, Inc. has been notified by the U.S. Department of Labor that it has been scheduled for a compliance review under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Flowers disclosed the compliance review in an Aug. 10 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“The company intends to cooperate with the department, and because the review process is confidential, the company has no further comment at this time,” Flowers said in the filing.
Thomasville-based Flowers is involved in several lawsuits from truck drivers who claim they were improperly classified as independent contractors and missed out on overtime pay, employee benefits and other compensation. The lawsuits allege Flowers violated Fair Labor Standards acts by classifying drivers on the company’s delivery routes as contractors.
Shares of Flowers’ common stock closed at $17.75 on Aug. 9, before opening at $17.29 on Aug. 10. Following the release of the S.E.C. filing, the company’s stock price fell as low as $16.27 in early morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, narrowly above 52-week lows set back in mid-February.
