Labor Department fines owners maximum penalty
By Ji Hyun Lim
AsianWeek Staff Writer
After harsh criticism from Asian Pacific American community groups, garment workers involved in a 15-month-long case against their former employers finally got some relief when the California labor commissioner announced that the state will pay almost $1 million in back wages to over 200 former employees of Wins of California.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has also assessed civil money penalties totalling $337,000 against the owners of Wins for repeated and willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The wages are being paid from a special state fund for unpaid garment workers. The fund was created in 1980 to ensure that garment workers are paid their wages when irresponsible contractors fail to do so. California garment manufacturers and contractors must register with the state annually, and $75 of each registration fee finances the garment worker fund...
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