U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Los Angeles Garment Maker Paying $51,840 to 40 Employees to Resolve Wage Violations

LOS ANGELES, CA – Garment contractor SMT Apparel Inc. – based in Los Angeles, California – will pay 40 employees $51,840 after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that the company failed to pay minimum wage and overtime, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Investigators with the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) discovered that SMT Apparel Inc. paid employees at a piece rate without regard for the number of hours they worked. This practice resulted in minimum wage violations for 11 employees when their piece rates failed to cover all of their hours at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and overtime violations for 29 employees when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but were not paid overtime.

"This case demonstrates our commitment to ensuring workers are properly paid and to leveling the playing field for law-abiding employers," said Richard Longo, Acting Wage and Hour Deputy Regional Administrator in San Francisco. "The Wage and Hour Division is available and eager to provide assistance to employers to help them understand the law and avoid violations."

"This case also shows that the Department is serious about wage violations and enforcement of the law," said Susan Selestsky in the Department's Regional Solicitor's Office in Los Angeles.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.