News Release

Department of Labor obtains judgment to recover $72K in wages, damages for 20 workers denied full wages by Oklahoma farm, landscape stores

Sod farm operator, landscaping retailer made improper deductions, misapplied exemption

TULSA, OK - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and injunction to recover $72,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 20 workers whose Oklahoma employer misapplied the agriculture exemption to retail workers and did not pay overtime to employees who worked more than 40 hours per week regularly.

Entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Oct. 18, 2024, judgment against Robert K. Cook, III, operator of Rob's Sod Inc., and Cook's Farmland Enterprises LLC, operating as Green Acre Sod Farm, Green Acre Sod & Landscape Center and Enterprise Sod and Landscape Center at four locations in Grove, Lawton, Owasso and Stillwater, follows an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division.

"Employers must be familiar with federal regulations that apply to their business and make certain that workers are paid as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires," explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Speer in Oklahoma City. "The Wage and Hour Division is determined to hold employers accountable when they fail to meet their legal obligations to pay employees fully for the work they do."

Green Acre Sod Farm operates on 10,000 acres in Bixby and Haskell, Oklahoma, 6,000 acres on the Red River in Texas and 2,000 acres in Mount Vernon, Missouri. Green Acre Sod has 10 retail stores throughout Oklahoma and Missouri.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. Calls are confidential and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Download the agency's new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices, now available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

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