Atlanta, Ga
WHD Press Release 00-207: U.S. Department of Labor Recovers Back Wages
for the Garment Industry [11/14/00]
For more information contact:
John McKeon (404) 562-2210
OPP, ALABAMA., MANUFACTURER PAYS MORE THAN $75,000 IN BACK WAGES
Covington Industries, an OPP, Alabama, garment
manufacturer, has paid over $75,000 in back wages due employees after the
company missed payrolls in June and September of this year.
In June, the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour
Division posted a "hot goods" notice at the Opp plant. The
notice prohibited shipment of goods produced by employees who had not been
paid. Missed payrolls in the amount of $23,697 was recovered for 136
workers before the goods were released.
Now in bankruptcy, Covington Industries paid an additional
$51,618 to 142 employees after the Labor Department filed an opposition to an
emergency motion by American Apparel, Inc., to remove their inventory from
Covington's facility. The bankruptcy court judge ordered Covington
Industries to pay the back wages due, after which American Apparel was allowed
to recover its property.
In addition to minimum wage violations, the Wage and Hour
Division found, in its earlier investigation, one young employee working in
violation of child labor laws governing the hours minors may work.
Part of the Employment Standards Administration, the Wage
and Hour Division enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act which sets the basic
federal minimum wage, currently $5.15 an hour. It also generally calls for
overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek; requires employers to keep
specified time and payroll records, and sets out by age groups the types of jobs
minors can hold, along with hours during which they may work.
Federal law prohibits the shipment of goods in interstate
commerce if they were produced by employees not paid wages due under the Fair
Labor Standards Act or produced by minors working in violation of federal child
labor laws.
Investigations of the Covington Industries plant were
conducted by the Wage and Hour Area Office located at the Aronov Building, Room
708, 474 South Court St., Montgomery, Ala. 36104; telephone: (334)
223-7641.
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