|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202-219-8211
Labor Secretary Robert B Reich said today a newly
completed survey of California garment companies is "powerful proof" that
initiatives designed to encourage the industry to better police itself are
working. The survey found that monitoring programs in the garment business have
significantly reduced minimum wage and overtime violations.
However, the recently completed survey also indicates that
labor law violations are a continuing problem in the industry and are being
ignored by far too many manufacturers, contractors and retailers.
"This survey clearly indicates that monitoring for labor
law compliance can have a substantial impact on working conditions," Reich
said. "Unfortunately, the survey also reminds us just how very far America has
to go to wipe out sweatshops in this century. The government cannot do it
alone. We need the support of the industry and the public."
The most significant findings in the survey of 76 randomly
selected California sewing firms are two-fold -- almost half of all sewing
shops are being monitored for compliance by the manufacturer, and monitored
sewing shops were found to have less than half the violations found in other
shops.
Investigators found that 48 percent of sewing contractors
are monitored by manufacturers, either according to a direct agreement between
the manufacturer and the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division or by
manufacturers who have voluntarily initiated a monitoring program of their own.
"Getting garment manufacturers to share responsibility for
the fair treatment of workers by the sewing shops with whom they contract has
been the cornerstone of our garment initiative," said Maria Echaveste,
administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. "The survey results will help
convince manufacturers that monitoring is an effective way to reduce their
potential liability for goods produced in their name in violation of the wage
and hour laws."
During the past two years, the Wage and Hour Division has
increased from four to 44 the number of manufacturers who have signed formal
agreements with the agency to monitor sewing contractors for compliance. Under
the terms of the Augmented Compliance Program Agreement, manufacturers agree to
conduct periodic audits of time and payroll records of their sewing
contractors.
The recent survey indicates a dramatic improvement in the
compliance of garment shops being monitored. The average total number of
violations for a monitored sewing shop was 2.9, compared to 4.9. Only 27
percent (vs. 64 percent) were cited for minimum wage violations. Roughly half
as many monitored shops were cited for overtime violations and backwages (39
percent cited vs. 75 percent).
The survey, formally released on Wednesday in Los Angeles,
shows compliance has improved in almost every area measured when compared to a
similar survey conducted in 1994.
Over the two-year time span, the percentage of firms
violating minimum wage requirements dropped 18 percent, from 61 to 43 percent.
Shops cited for overtime law violations dropped from 78 percent to 55 percent.
No shops were cited for child labor violations, compared to 4 percent in the
1994 survey.
The 1996 survey also showed firms on average owed far less
in back wages and penalties as a result of violations. Back wages owed workers
who were paid less than the minimum wage totaled $1,592, compared to $3,866 in
1994. Unpaid overtime owed workers was $1,643 -- down from $3,418 two years
ago. Employers were fined $1,128 for failure to maintain workers' compensation
insurance, compared to $4,407 in the previous survey.
The 1996 survey was based on the results of investigations
of 76 apparel sewing contractors in the Los Angeles Basin counties of Los
Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside. Random samples were
pulled from California Employment Development Department records of 4849
apparel firms. A random selection program provided the names of 110 firms, of
which 34 were dropped as unsuitable or no longer in business.
Just last week, the department released its first-ever
national garment enforcement report. The report revealed that almost half of
garment contractors investigated across the country were in violation of
minimum wage or overtime laws.
The enforcement report was another development in the
department's three-prong strategy that includes recognizing companies working
to stem labor abuses, aggressively enforcing the nation's laws against worker
abuse and educating the public about continued violations throughout the
industry. Over the last year, Reich has named to a Trendsetters list, almost
three dozen national manufacturers and retailers who are aiding efforts to
eradicate sweatshops.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
| 
