L.A. Denim Maker Pays Back Wages to Garment Workers
Los Angeles denim producer Joe’s Jeans has paid 110 workers nearly $160,000 for back wages that were not paid to them by a sewing contractor.
The U.S. Labor Department said the contractor, Angel’s Finishing Inc., located at 5619 S. Main St., had been paying employees on a piece-rate basis without guaranteeing they received at least minimum wage or taking into consideration overtime pay and work on Saturdays and Sundays.
“Piece-rate pay is not illegal as long as employers have a record of the hours employees worked,” said Deanne Amaden, a spokesperson for the U.S. Labor Department. She said employers should look at the total hours and the total pay. “If it shows the workers were paid less than minimum wage, you have a problem.”
Joe’s Jeans paid $158,952 in back wages for work done between Sept. 29, 2008, and Oct. 6, 2010, Amaden said. Joe’s Jeans also agreed to a plan promoting compliance by all its contractors through periodic monitoring of its garment producers.
“Upon being informed by the Department of Labor that one of its contractors may have violated minimum wage and overtime regulations, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, Joe’s Jeans acted quickly to cooperate with the DOL and to give them the information they requested to complete their investigation,” Lori Nembirkow, senior vice president of legal and compliance at Joe’s Jeans, wrote in an e-mail. “Joe’s Jeans met with the Labor Department on two separate occasions to discuss their findings, as well as to reach resolution on the matter. Joe’s Jeans voluntarily paid the full amount of back wages of Angel’s Finishing to ensure that Angel’s employees were properly paid for all hours worked.”
In addition, the owners of Angel’s Finishing, Daisy Mazariegos and Eduardo Santizo, were ordered to pay $41,140 in civil penalties for willfully violating the law by falsifying employees’ time records, Amaden said. They are appealing that fine, she added. Neither Mazariegos nor Santizo was available for comment.
Angel’s Finishing worked exclusively for Joe’s Jeans, finishing jeans that were later shipped to U.S. stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s and Nordstrom.
“We expect employers to take responsibility to ensure that anyone manufacturing their products follows the law, and if they do not, we will take necessary actions to ensure that they do,” said George Friday Jr., administrator of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division’s Western regional office.—Deborah Belgum
