(WHTM) – More than $88,000 has been paid back to 257 workers following a Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industries investigation into wage theft in York County.

The Department of Labor and Industry says the payments came after Constellation Energy Generation and Constellation Nuclear Security failed to pay workers for time spent conducting safety checks before their shifts.

According to the Ministry of Labor and Industry, the non-payment of these employees was a violation of the minimum wage law, which requires pre- and post-shift inspections.

“Failure to pay employees for the time employers require for pre- and post-examination checks is a form of wage theft. Even if these check-ups only take a few minutes each day, over time those minutes add up to significant amounts of money, for workers,” said L&I Secretary Nancy A. Walker. “L&I is committed to enforcing this important requirement of the minimum wage law, and I encourage workers to let us know if they believe an employer is “Failure to fulfill its obligations. We will investigate this.”

From July 2021 to June 2023, payments will be made to current and former employees for wages owed.