Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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CLARKSBURG, WV -- Beverage Distributors, Inc., Clarksburg, W. Va., has paid a total of $26,000 in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 11 employees as a result of an agreement resolving a U.S. Labor Department lawsuit. The department filed the suit against the company and its owner, Vincent D’Annunzio.

An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer, a wholesale beverage distributor in North Central West Virginia, failed to compensate employees for hours worked in excess of forty per week from January 2001 through January 2003. The employees were not paid for two 15-minute breaks each day.

“The Wage and Hour Division is committed to ensuring that workers are paid in accordance with the law for all hours worked, and to protecting the overtime pay rights of workers,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director John Dumont.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and time and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. The FLSA also sets standards for the employment of youth.

The Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $197 million in back wages in fiscal year (FY) 2004 for more than 288,000 workers. Average days to resolve a complaint decreased in FY 2004 from 108 days to 92 days.

For more information about 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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U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.