The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labor performed 50 randomized investigations in 2022 of apparel contractors throughout Southern California, to evaluate the frequency of wage theft and worker safety violations. The Department of Labor had previously done this in 2016. 

Violations were discovered in 80% of 2022 investigations, leading to $892,000 in back pay and liquidated damages for 296 employees. The average return of unpaid wages to each worker was over $3,000. 

Results according to the Department of Labor, by the employer’s county: 

Additional insights from the apparel survey include:  

• In the 2022 Apparel Survey, a significant shift towards online sales was reported by manufacturers, with over 60% of sales on average being conducted directly online, rather than through conventional brick-and-mortar retailers.  
• In over half of the cases, the Department discovered that employees were partially or entirely paid off the books, with records either falsified or not supplied.  
• Despite being prohibited in the apparel industry by the State of California, 32% of apparel sewing contractors still compensated their workers on a piece rate basis.  
• Compared to the 42% violation rate in the 2016 survey, the 2022 survey found a decrease in federal minimum wage violations among sewing contractors, to less than 20%. The lowest wage identified in the 2022 survey was $1.58 per hour, compared to $4 per hour in 2016.  
• Apparel sewing contractors without any violations typically collaborated with manufacturers offering higher sewing fees per unit for specific garments.  
• Contractors overseen by their upstream manufacturers were less prone to breach the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) pay regulations. 

2016 Garment Survey for Unpaid Wages and Labor Violations by the Department of Labor 

From the 2016 to the 2022 garment survey, there was a drop in federal minimum wage violations from 42% to below 20%. However, the lowest hourly wage found in the 2022 survey was $1.58, significantly lower than the $4 per hour found in the 2016 survey. 

In fiscal years 2017 through 2022, the Wage & Hour Division concluded over 800 cases in the garment industry, resulting in more than $10.4 million in back wages for over 6,000 workers. The three Southern California District Offices of the Wage & Hour Division alone recovered over 88% of all back wages for the entire country. Los Angeles District Office alone recovered over $6.6 million dollars in this industry over the last 6 years. 

In the 2016 Southern California Garment Survey Results, the Department of Labor announced a consent judgment that required one of the primary clothing suppliers to pay $212,000 in back wages to employees of its garment subcontractors for minimum wage and overtime violations. Over the last five years, Southern California Wage and Hour division officials concluded over 1,000 investigations in the garment industry, resulting in more than $11.7 million in back wages. 

The Garment Worker Center 2016 Report, “Dirty Threads, Dangerous Factories: Health and Safety in Los Angeles’ Fashion Industry,”  

The Garment Worker Center 2016 report surveyed 307 workers in the greater L.A. area between June and December of 2015. The findings revealed that  

• 72% of respondents indicated their factories were dusty 
• 60% reported poor ventilation due to excessive heat and dust 
• 47% observed soiled and unmaintained workplace bathrooms, and  
• 42% reported rats and mice in the factories where they sewed 

The report also found that 42% of workers reported that exits and doors in their shops were regularly blocked, 49% stated that there were no first aid kits available on site, and 82% had never received any health or safety training at their workplace. 

The report’s recommendations include making retailers and brands responsible for unhealthy and unsafe workplace violations, implementing and supporting indoor heat standards for all indoor workers in California, ending the piece rate system, and promoting new citywide standards to fill current gaps in worker protections. 

Minimum Wage in California in 2023 

The minimum wage in California increased to $15.50 per hour. The prior rate was $15.00. 

Minimum wage can also be set by counties and cities.  The list of cities with higher minimum wage (list as of January 2023): 

Mountain View, California has the highest minimum wage at $18.15 per hour, effective as of January 1st, 2023.  No city or county can enact a minimum wage below the minimum wage for California. The next highest city is Sunnyvale with a minimum wage of $17.95. 

A garment worker in Los Angeles county earning the minimum wage would earn $16.04 per hour, or $128.32 per 8 hour shift.  Alternative payments such as being paid per piece (Piece Rate) or being paid per day (Day Rate) cannot result in a worker earning less than the minimum wage.  An 8 hour shift in Los Angeles county must pay $128.32 or more for 8 hours of work, based on the $16.04 minimum wage for 2023. 

Federal law requires time and half overtime pay for all hours beyond 40 per week. California additionally requires time and a half for all time over 8 hours per day.  For more information on overtime, see our page here(insert link).  For more information in minimum wage, see our page here (insert link). 

Los Angeles Employment Law Firm 

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky has been established in California with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1993. Since 2022 Schneider Wallace has maintained a second California office in downtown Los Angeles, conveniently close to courts our attorneys work at for their Los Angeles employment and consumer cases. 

Partner Carolyn Cottrell (link) a member of the firm since 1995, oversees the firm’s employment practice in Los Angeles office. Ms. Cottrell has spent her legal career advocating for the rights of workers who have been subjected to underpayment of wages, discrimination, harassment and retaliation. She has litigated hundreds of class actions and individual claims including wage and hour, employment discrimination and civil rights actions.