Levi Strauss To Pay More Than $1M In Back Pay

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Levi Strauss & Co. will pay more than $1 million in overtime back pay to almost 600 workers nationwide following a Labor Department investigation.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that the investigation found that Levi Strauss violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime and recordkeeping provisions. The investigation covered back pay for time worked over a two-year period.

It was determined that the blue jeans maker misclassified some groups of employees, including assistant store managers of newly acquired stores, as exempt from overtime. While assistant managers of existing stores were exempt from overtime pay, the newly hired workers were not.

The Labor Department also said that Levi Strauss did not record all hours employees worked in its payroll system, with some assistant store managers required to work off-the-clock during certain times.

Levi Strauss has agreed to pay the back wages, upgrade its time and attendance system and comply with the law in the future.

The privately held San Francisco company runs 164 stores and has more than 4,000 employees in the U.S. Its global operations cover more than 100 countries.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)