Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

OPA Press Release: Labor Department Releases Fourth Quarter 1999 Garment Enforcement Report [05/01/2000]

For more information call: 202-693-4650

The U.S. Department of Labor recovered more than $700,000 in back wages for garment workers during July, August and September 1999, for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The department's latest quarterly garment enforcement report lists 65 contractors and 116 manufacturers that were found to be in violation of the law. The majority of the cases are from California.

"We are using our enforcement tools, such as fines and court action, in an effort to end the rampant violations in the garment industry," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said. "In cases involving serious violations, we also are collecting back wages over a longer period of time to more fully re-pay these often-exploited workers."

The largest case on the report involved Emeraldtex, Inc., a South El Monte, Calif., garment contractor that agreed to pay $247,069 in minimum wage and overtime back wages to 138 employees for two years. In addition, the firm also entered a consent judgment to comply with the law and pay a fine of $20,000 for repeat violations.

The report lists for the first time a contractor fined for child labor violations Fancy Trim Co. of Los Angeles, fined $6,400.

The overall summary enforcement statistics for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 show that the Wage and Hour Division conducted a total of 115 investigations nationwide, finding violations in some 60 percent, or 75 of the cases, and recovered back wages of $721,854. The department also assessed civil penalties of $85,180 for repeat and willful violations of the minimum wage and overtime laws.

The department began issuing quarterly Garment Enforcement Reports in 1996 to provide retailers and consumers with information about contractors that violate the minimum wage and overtime laws and the manufacturers they do business with.

Previous Garment Enforcement Reports are available on the Internet at the Labor Department's home page at www.dol.gov.

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.