Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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NEW YORK -- The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that Harold Levinson Associates Inc., and Edward Berro, its president, must pay more than $831,000 in back wages and liquidated damages, plus interest, to more than 100 employees. The back wage liability resulted from the company’s failure to pay overtime compensation as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“This administration is committed to protecting workers’ overtime rights and ensuring that they receive all the wages they have earned,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. “With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, our actions on behalf of these workers stand and I am pleased that we will have recovered $831,000 for them.”

Harold Levinson Associates is involved in the wholesale distribution of candy, cigarettes and tobacco. An investigation by the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the company did not keep proper records or pay overtime compensation as required by the FLSA during two periods – May 1992 to October 1993 and October 1993 to December 1994. Early in the investigation, the company was located in Plainview, N.Y.; it later moved to Hicksville, N.Y.

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York previously had remanded the case to the district court for a recomputation of back wages owed employees of the firm. After a second trial, the district court accepted the department’s calculation of back wages and liquidated damages totaling more than $831,000. The Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling. The employer’s appeal of that decision was denied Oct. 11 by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The FLSA requires employers to pay employees at least the applicable minimum wage and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. An employer must also keep accurate records of employees’ wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.

The Long Island District Office of the Wage and Hour Division in Westbury, N.Y., conducted this investigation, and the department’s legal actions were handled by the Regional Solicitor’s Office in New York City and the Fair Labor Standards Division in Washington, D.C. For more information about the provisions of the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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