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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-8211
The U.S. Labor Department announced today the results of the first-ever
investigation-based compliance survey of garment shops in New York City for
compliance with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Of 94
garment contractors investigated by the Department's Wage and Hour Division, 59
shops--or 63 percent--were found in violation of the minimum wage and overtime
provisions of the FLSA.
"Obviously, these results are unacceptable," said Labor Secretary Alexis
M. Herman. "They show that neither the Department nor the garment industry can
become any less diligent. In fact, we must redouble our efforts to seek
solutions to the serious sweatshop problem in New York City."
Investigators found more than 1,400 garment workers due more than
$412,300 in back wages. To date, more than $396,073 in back wages have been
restored to 1,360 workers.
The overall rate of compliance with the minimum wage and overtime
provisions of the FLSA was only 37 percent, and overtime violations were found
at more than twice the rate of minimum wage violations. In addition, 70 percent
of the shops violated the record keeping requirement.
This year, the Wage and Hour Division has hired 16 additional
investigators for the New York City metropolitan area --all with bilingual
ability in Chinese or Spanish. In light of the survey results, Wage and Hour
has instituted a new strategy for targeting manufacturers with a history of
contracting with garment shops routinely found in violation of labor laws.
Specifically, this new strategy includes:
- targeting contractor shops who repeatedly violate labor laws;
- working with manufacturers who contract with repeat violators to
monitor their contractor shops for compliance with labor laws;
- seeking legal actions, such as temporary restraining orders to
prevent the shipment of "hot goods" (goods made in violation) by these
manufacturers;
- increasing surveillance to address the serious payroll falsification
problem;
- working in partnership with other federal, state and city agencies to
increase overall enforcement effectiveness; and
- conducting monthly seminars with manufacturers to assist them in
implementing and maintaining an effective monitoring program.
The New York City survey consisted of a random sample of the latest
available information regarding known garment contractors in all five boroughs.
Among other purposes, this and other investigation-based surveys help establish
a statistically valid baseline of compliance in order to track industry
compliance over the long term.
Surveys also provide information on how to better focus the
department's efforts to improve compliance. For example, Wage and Hour
investigators will give increased attention to the locality with the highest
violation rate, the Chinatown section of Manhattan, where nearly nine out of
ten shops were found in violation of the monetary provisions of FLSA.
Investigators also learned that fewer than 10 percent of the
contractors were being informally monitored by their manufacturers, a technique
which has been shown to be effective in reducing the number of violations.
"The results clearly suggest that manufacturers should be monitoring
contractor shops more," said Herman. "Through effective monitoring and other
efforts, all levels of the industry and the government must commit to work in
partnership to ensure that these hard-working garment workers are protected and
paid the wages they so justly deserve."
A 1996 survey in Los Angeles found a comparable rate of compliance at
39 percent, but nearly one-half of all shops were being monitored. There, 61
percent of the monitored shops were in compliance with the overtime requirement
as compared to 25 percent of the non-monitored shops. A 1997 survey in the San
Francisco Bay area found 87 percent of the monitored shops in compliance with
overtime as compared to 68 percent in the non-monitored shops.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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