Scrap Metal Company: Automatic Lunch Deductions, Off-the-Clock Work
Channelview Scrap Metal Company: Automatic Lunch Deductions, Off-the-Clock Work, and Overtime Violations
Gold Star Metals, LLC | Hourly Employees | Channelview, Texas
At Gold Star Metals, LLC, a Channelview scrap metal recycler, company practices situation produced a four-part pay practice that systematically shorted hourly workers: an automatic daily lunch deduction regardless of whether any break was actually taken, uncompensated pre-shift and after-hours work, an asymmetric rounding policy that docked time for tardiness but gave employees no corresponding credit for staying late, and an overtime calculation that excluded non-discretionary production bonuses from the regular rate.
In June 2026, The Buenker Law Firm filed a federal lawsuit against Gold Star Metals, LLC in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, Case No. 4:26-cv-4866. The complaint was filed on behalf of a former hourly Mechanical Supervisor who worked at Gold Star's Channelview facility from February 2022 through January 2026. The complaint alleges that Gold Star configured its payroll software to automatically deduct thirty minutes from every hourly employee's daily pay, whether or not those employees actually took a lunch break. The complaint further alleges that employees routinely worked before their scheduled start time without being paid for it, and that unwarranted deductions were taken for being a few minutes tardy. Gold Star, the complaint alleges, failed to compensate employees for much of this time and also failed to include monthly production bonuses in its overtime rate calculations.
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay non-exempt, hourly workers one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. An automatic meal-period deduction is lawful only when employees are completely relieved from duty for the entire break period. When employees are required to remain available, respond to calls, or perform work during a scheduled lunch period, that time must be counted as compensable hours worked. Federal regulations also prohibit time-rounding policies that systematically benefit the employer rather than neutrally average out over time.
The lawsuit was filed as a collective action on behalf of all hourly, non-exempt employees employed by Gold Star Metals, LLC during the three-year period preceding the filing of this complaint. This case is currently pending in federal court in Houston.
The complaint expressly alleges that Gold Star's conduct was knowing, willful, and in reckless disregard of the rights of its hourly employees.
Workers in similar situations may have legal rights under the FLSA. Because the complaint alleges that the employer acted intentionally and knowingly in violation of federal law, affected workers may be entitled to recover three years of back wages. Time limits apply.
