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OPA Press Release: Labor Department Releases Fourth Quarter Garment Enforcement Report [12/30/1997]

For more information call: 202/219-8211

More than $600,000 in back pay recovered in three months for garment workers

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $611,328 in back wages for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for 1,850 garment workers from July 1 to September 30, 1997, according to the Fourth Quarter Garment Enforcement Report released today. The report also shows that the department's Wage and Hour Division conducted 212 investigations in the garment industry during that time period and found violations in 99 of them. The department assessed $112,385 in civil penalties for repeat or willful violations.

"This report is yet another reminder of the persistence of wage abuse in the garment industry, " said U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman. "I am committed to using every resource at our disposal to bring this problem to an end. I am increasingly convinced to truly make that a reality, we need the cooperation of every part of the industry."

Fifty-nine contractors and 98 manufacturers are listed in the report. New York leads with the largest number of investigations (156), violations (68), back wages recovered ($510,326) and number of employees receiving back wages (1,589). California leads in the largest amount of civil fines imposed ($93,375) during the three-month time period.

In October, the department announced that its first-ever FLSA investigation-based compliance survey in New York garment shops found that only 37 percent of those surveyed were in compliance with minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA. Nine out of ten Chinatown shops were found to be in violation. Earlier this month, the department announced record back pay recoveries by two Chinatown sweatshops, totaling $214,000 for 73 workers. As a result, the Wage and Hour Division has implemented a new strategy that targets both repeat offender contracting shops and manufacturers with a history of doing business with them.

The largest case cited in the quarterly report resulted in the recovery of $192,974 for 109 employees of the Raymond Garment Cutting & Services, Inc. The San Francisco-based company provided garment contracting services for Fitigues, a Chicago-based manufacturer, as well as for the following San Francisco-based manufacturers: Tight Ends, Knucklehead and J.J. Mae's (d.b.a. Rainbeau).

A component of the U.S. Department of Labor's "No Sweat" campaign against worker abuse and exploitation in the American apparel industry, the Quarterly Enforcement Report has been issued since May 1996 to provide retailers and consumers with information about garment contractors that violate the law, as well as the manufacturers that do business with them.

This report, as well as previously issued reports and other information regarding the department's "No Sweat" initiative, is available on-line on the Labor Department's Internet site at www.dol.gov.

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.