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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 693-4657
Nearly three-fourths of garment sewing shops and manufacturers in San
Francisco and Oakland obey federal wage and hour regulations--about the same
level as in 1997- according to a U.S. Department of Labor survey released
today.
Although the overall level of compliance remains stable, the survey
indicated some notable changes in the past two years. The amount of back wages
found by the department owed to underpaid workers is down dramatically from
similar surveys in 1995 and 1997. Sewing contractors monitored by the
manufacturers they supply are less likely to violate the law, and the more
closely monitored the better their compliance. Firms which have been in
business two years or more are also more likely to be in compliance than newer
businesses.
"The insights provided by this survey will be instrumental in
fine-tuning our efforts to use enforcement, education and partnerships to
continue to improve compliance in this industry," Labor Secretary Alexis M.
Herman said. "The survey clearly demonstrates that shops effectively monitored
by manufacturers are more likely to obey labor laws."
According to the survey--conducted by the department's Wage and Hour
Division--74 percent of Bay Area garment businesses comply with the minimum
wage, overtime pay and other requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act, not
a significant change from a similar 1997 survey, and up dramatically from 57
percent in 1995.
The survey includes data for the first time for the San Francisco Bay
area showing that garment shops monitored periodically by manufacturers had
much higher compliance levels and smaller amounts of back wages for underpaid
employees. A garment shop is considered "monitored" when a manufacturer
conducts one or more of the following during the year: record review; time card
review; employee interviews; distribution of compliance materials; notifying
shop owners of common violations and recommending corrective action; or making
an unannounced monitoring visit. A shop is considered "effectively monitored"
if six or more of the above elements occur. The compliance level for
effectively monitored contractors was 90 percent, compared to 76 percent for
contractors subject to some monitoring, and 57 percent for shops not monitored
at all.
The average back wage amount owed by effectively monitored shops was
$186, about 10 percent of the $1,841 average owed by firms which were not
monitored.
The survey also found that among Bay Area sewing shops, compliance is
greater among established firms. The average compliance level of companies in
business more than two years is 76 percent, compared to 64 percent of firms
less than two years old.
The survey also found a high rate of current compliance (86 percent) by
those contractors that had been previously investigated and found in violation.
It found no instances of the illegal employment of minors.
The results of the survey were announced at a Garment Stakeholders Forum
in San Francisco today. The Labor Department hosted the meeting which was open
to representatives from all parts of the industry -- sewing contractors,
manufacturers, retailers, worker advocacy groups, academia and other interested
parties.
The survey of 57 firms is considered a statistically valid sampling of
the Bay Area garment industry. In total, some 400 garment sewing shops employ
approximately 10,000 workers on both sides of the Bay. The department conducts
periodic surveys in major garment centers to measure compliance with the wage
and hour laws and to direct resources to improve compliance. In 1993 the
Department launched the "No Sweat" campaign--a multi-pronged nationwide
strategy of enforcement, partnership and education--to eliminate sweatshops in
the U.S.
Since the "No Sweat" initiative was launched, the department has
recovered more than $17.7 million in back wages for 54,000 garment workers
across the country.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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