The US Department of Labour announced a recovery of over US $ 1 million in back wages and damages for 165 garment workers following an investigation into malpractices by Los Angeles garment contractors.
This settlement is the largest for Californian garment workers, resulting from the operations of four sewing contractors in the city – Good Cash LLC, Good Cash Inc., Premium Quality Apparel LLC, and Premium Quality Apparel Inc., all owned by Ramon Tecum, Marisela Romero (also known as Diana Tecum), and Joseph Delao.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division found these contractors “willfully failed to pay overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek to employees who worked an average of 52 hours per week”.
Former California Deputy Labour Commissioner Conrado Gomez was identified as playing a “significant role in the businesses”. When executing a court-authorised investigation inspection warrant, Tecum, Romero, and Gomez attempted to disguise themselves as workers, cutting off power, and instructing employees to leave.
In response, the athleisure apparel brand Beyond Yoga, associated with the implicated contractors, accepted responsibility, agreeing to pay US $ 582,317 in back wages and damages. The brand also committed to an enhanced compliance agreement, updating its code of conduct for garment contractors to align with the Fair Labour Standards Act.
Additionally, the Office of the Solicitor secured a consent judgment against Good Cash and Premium Apparel entities, imposing a US $ 200,000 civil money penalty for their violations.
