Shell, Motiva to pay back wages to U.S. workers - Labor Department

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc's U.S. subsidiary Shell Oil Co and the company's Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] joint-venture with Saudi Aramco [SDABO.UL] have agreed to pay $4.5 million in back overtime wages to 2,677 current and former employees, the U.S. Department of Labor said on Tuesday.

The Labor Department's investigators found workers at Shell and Motiva chemical plants and crude oil refineries on the U.S. Gulf and West coasts were not paid for mandatory pre-shift meetings in violation of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.

"Employers are legally required to pay workers for all hours worked, whether in the international oil industry, as in this case, or a local family-run restaurant." said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez.

A spokeswoman for Shell and Motiva said the companies cooperated with Labor Department investigators.

"Shell and Motiva each remain committed to compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and both have consistently demonstrated their own compliance efforts involving the Fair Labor Standards Act," said spokeswoman Kimberly Windon.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Chris Reese and Andre Grenon)