The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Harold Levinson Associates, Inc., and Edward Berro, its president, have been ordered to pay more than $831,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to more than 100 employees as a result of the company's violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

"This action reflects this Administration's commitment to protecting overtime rights and ensuring that workers receive all the wages they have earned," said Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. "In this case, we have recovered more than $831,000 for these workers."

Harold Levinson Associates is involved in the wholesale distribution of candy, cigarettes and tobacco. Early in the Labor Department's investigation, the company was located in Plainview, N.Y.; it later moved to Hicksville, New York.

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 this ruling.

The company did not keep proper records or pay overtime compensation as required by the FLSA during two periods—one covering May 1992 to October 1993, and the other covering October 1993 to December 1994.