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$1.592M for former MGM workers remain unclaimed
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Posted on Apr 11 2008
[B]SAN FRANCISCO[/B]—Former garment workers at Marianas Garment Manufacturing on Saipan have failed to claim $1,592,092 in back wages owed them following an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.
The back wages, which range from $70 to $3,776 apiece, are owed to 763 workers who were employed by the company between April 7, 1997, and April 7, 1999, and who were not paid overtime wages for all hours worked in accordance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
“We would like these back wages delivered to the workers who earned them,” said George Friday Jr., regional administrator of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco. “Anyone knowing of a former worker at this business should encourage that individual to step forward before the opportunity is gone.”
Friday said that many of the workers left Saipan, often returning to China, before the agreement with Marianas Garment Manufacturing was signed in September 2002. His office did not have addresses or a means to contact the former employees once they left Saipan. Any wages not claimed by Oct. 1, 2008, will be transferred to the U.S. Treasury and cannot be recovered.
Former workers who believe that they may be entitled to back wages for work performed during the period covered should contact Carminia Ramirez-Byrne, back wage disbursement officer, via e-mail at ramirez-byrne.carminia@dol.gov, phone at 415-625-7697 or fax at 415-625-7699.
The FLSA requires that covered employees receive overtime at one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records.
Information about the FLSA is available on the Wage and Hour Division’s home page at www.wagehour.dol.gov, by calling the division toll-free at 866-487-9243 (4US-WAGE) or by calling the division’s office in Saipan at 670-233-0740.[B][I] (DOL)[/I][/B]
