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Levi Strauss to Pay More Than $1 Million in Overtime Back Wages

Friday, April 01, 2011

After an investigation conducted by the San Francisco District Office of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division found that Levi Strauss & Co. had violated federal record keeping and overtime provisions, the company has agreed to pay more than $1 million in overtime back wages. 

The investigation which California employment attorneys had followed closely, found that Levi Strauss & Co., misclassified several groups of workers as exempt from overtime.  In all, 596 employees nationwide were shown as exempt.  These included assistant store managers at newly-acquired stores. 

There were also several recordkeeping violations.  The company failed to properly record all of the employees in the payroll system.  Instead, the company misclassified assistant store managers requiring them to work off the clock during early-morning openings, late-night closings and staffing shortages.  Besides, the company also misclassified several administrative employees as being exempt from the provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The San Francisco-based company has agreed to pay back wages, totaling $1,011,413.  The company has also upgraded its time and attendance system, and has agreed to comply with FLSA provisions in the future.

Employees covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and half of the regular pay, if the employee works more than 40 hours a week.  Employers are required to keep accurate and precise records for all employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  There are some exceptions to the law.  For instance, administrative, professional and external sales employees may be exempt from these provisions.

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