CFA Hosts Acting Labor Chief
California’s acting labor commissioner, Robert Jones, fielded questions and concerns on a few hot-button issues affecting the apparel industry at a recent membership meeting of the California Fashion Association, held on March 6 at the Karen Kane headquarters in Vernon, Calif.
Jones stepped in as acting commissioner in December, when Labor Commissioner Donna Dell decided not to seek reappointment. Jones joined the department in August 2005 as chief counsel for the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, which investigates wage claims and other complaints and enforces the state labor code for the Department of Industrial Relations.
“[The industry was shaken] into reality a number of years ago,” said Karen Kane owner Lonnie Kane, who serves as chairman of the CFA.
Kane said that most apparel companies in California abide by the state’s labor laws.
“There is a portion of the industry that does not [comply with labor laws], but that should not be confused with the majority of the industry,” he said. “And that’s the point we’ve been trying to make for a number of years.”
Jones’ background is as a labor negotiator who worked for 15 years in private practice. Many of his clients were high-tech companies that were watching jobs move offshore to India, he told CFA members, noting the similarity to the apparel industry’s shift to offshore production.
He also stressed to the crowd that the labor commissioner’s job is to not only protect employees, but also “to vigorously enforce the code to make sure that those who comply with the law don’t get disadvantaged by those who don’t comply.”
“The laws need to be enforced impartially,” Jones said. “My job is not to punish employers and reward employees. My job is to enforce compliance.”
There are two ways to ensure compliance— education and enforcement—he said, noting that the employment development department offers training seminars for manufacturers.
As far as enforcement goes, there’s the bureau of field enforcement, a division that Jones noted was understaffed. There is also the Economic Employment Enforcement Coalition, a multi-agency task force founded last year to educate business owners and employees about labor laws and to conduct sweeps of the garment industry.
Other issues that came up in the meeting were overtime pay, exempt versus non-exempt employees and mealtime breaks. In particular, Jones noted, employers must keep detailed records of when employees take their mealtime breaks, because the law mandates that employees must take a lunch break before their fifth hour of work.
Jones also encouraged open communication between members of the apparel industry and the labor commissioner’s office.
“If you have an issue that you think can be solved administratively, it’s very helpful to me if you provide analysis of the issue,” he said, adding that it’s equally helpful to learn about the successful cases.
“If you have a case against the labor commission and you are successful and felt it was a wellwritten case, please let us know,” Jones said.
In addition, Jones said his department encourages manufacturers to self-monitor and self-report compliance issues.
In the event that a violation has taken place, the department will be lenient on manufacturers that show a good-faith effort they want to rectify the problem.
“You are not going to get out of paying those wages, but we will generally waive the penalties,” he said.
—Alison A. Nieder
