Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a contempt petition against an Altadena garment manufacturer that had agreed to pay 43 Hispanic employees $56,000 in back wages following a previous investigation of the firm. In a December 2003 consent judgment, Teresa and Humberto Nuno, who own and operate Creaciones Zuleika Inc., agreed to pay the back wages by May 2004 and $10,000 in civil penalties by January 2005, but have failed to do so. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California will hear this case on March 14.

“The Department of Labor is committed to enforcing all laws and settlements, especially those settlements that concern low-wage and immigrant workers,” said George Friday, Jr., regional administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “We will continue pursuing this case until all workers have received the back wages they are owed.” The department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered nearly $200 million in back wages in fiscal year 2004 for more than 288,000 workers.

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Creaciones Zuleika Inc. paid employees straight time and in cash for overtime hours worked, and did not keep adequate records of work hours. The FLSA requires that employees earn no less than the federal minimum wage for all hours worked, and one-and-one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 per week.

The back wages compensate employees for work cutting and sewing first communion and baptismal attire during the two-year period ending in June 2003. The Labor Department also cited the firm following a 1993 investigation.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Los Angeles Wage and Hour office at (213) 894-6375 or the Department of Labor's toll-free help line at 1-866-4US WAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov.

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