News Release

San Francisco, CA

LOS ANGELES GARMENT MANUFACTURER MUST PAY BACK WAGES OF $179,006, CIVIL PENALTIES OF $10,000

SAN FRANCISCO -- A garment manufacturer with three locations in Los Angeles has signed a consent judgment ordering the payment of $179,006 in back wages to settle a federal complaint that the corporation violated federal wage and hour laws. The corporation was fined an additional $10,000 in civil money penalties for knowingly violating the law.

Lira Fashion, Inc., managed by Seung Chong Lim -- also known as Mario Lim -- with a main office at 3131 Alameda Street, signed the consent judgment in U.S. District Court to settle charges that the company failed to pay employees the legal minimum wage, and did not pay higher overtime pay for extra work hours. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires, in part, that employees be paid at least the federal basic minimum wage of $5.15 per hour, and that employees be paid no less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for any work hours in excess of forty within a seven-day work week.

"The Wage and Hour Division will use the courts aggressively to bolster our efforts to bring the garment industry into better compliance," said George Friday, regional administrator of the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. "We will use the full force of the law against firms who violate the minimum wage and overtime regulations in order to enjoy a competitive advantage over law-abiding employers."

Federal compliance officers with the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division found that Lira Fashion employees were paid a straight piece rate based on the number of garments they completed. In many cases, however, the piece rate resulted in an hourly pay which was less than $5.15 an hour. In addition, the piece rate pay system did not provide for higher pay for overtime work.

The back wages will compensate 113 employees for work performed during the period from June 1, 1996 to June 1, 1999.

The investigation of Lira Fashion, Inc. was conducted by the Glendale office of the Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and Hour Division enforces federal regulations on minimum wage, overtime and child labor; the Family Medical Leave Act; special wage and hour requirements for federal contractors; wage garnishment and the protection of migrant and seasonal farm workers. In addition to its enforcement efforts, the agency provides information and education programs to inform employers of their rights and responsibilities in order to foster understanding and compliance.

Workers and employers with questions about their wages and work hours can call the Wage and Hour office in Glendale at 213-894-6375. The office has multilingual staff which can provide information in several languages. # # #