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$83K in unclaimed back wages
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Posted on Aug 07 2008
[B]SAN FRANCISCO[/B]—Former garment workers at Mariana Fashions Inc. on Saipan have failed to claim $83,647 in back wages owed them following an agreement between the company and the U.S. Department of Labor.
The back wages are owed to 331 workers who were employed by the company between Dec. 1, 1997, and April 30, 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.
Friday’s office has had many inquiries from former workers at another garment manufacturer, Marianas Garment Manufacturing, following a similar announcement of available back wage payments by the department in April of this year.
“We would also like to be successful in delivering back wages to the former Mariana Fashion Workers,” he said.
Many of the workers left Saipan, often returning to China, before the agreement with Mariana Fashions was signed in October 2003. The Wage and Hour Division did not have addresses or a means to contact many of 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 Anna Archila, back wage clerk, via e-mail at archila.anna@dol.gov, by phone at 415-625-7697 or by 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] (Labor)[/I][/B]
