ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. George E. Pataki has approved legislation giving the Department of Labor’s Apparel Industry Task Force more power to enforce state labor laws.
The bill, which takes effect Dec. 16, will allow the task force to seize goods in factories found in violation of labor laws. The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R.-C., Queens), also stipulates the Labor commissioner can require manufacturers to pay a surety bond based upon their past record of violations. The bond guarantees the workers’ wages or a fine can be paid in an amount up to $2,500.
The new law will also impose administrative penalties up to $250 for the first violation and up to $500 for each subsequent violation. The penalties are to be applied to the enforcement and administrative costs of the task force.
“There has been an explosion of illegal sweatshops throughout New York City and its boroughs,” Maltese said. “Each sweatshop is a threat to the health and safety of the workers through its continuing violations of the child labor laws, minimum wage laws, OSHA regulations and fire and building codes.”
The special task force was established in 1987 to investigate and enforce garment industry factories that exploit workers by not complying with state labor laws. These so-called sweatshops typically fail to pay proper minimum wage or overtime, provide safe working conditions or pay taxes.
While apparel manufacturing in the state has declined dramatically over the last 25 years, there were still 34,000 people legally employed in the sector as of January 2005, according to the most recent annual report of the task force.
Meanwhile, legislation to prevent the overnight locking-in of workers was vetoed by Pataki on the grounds that the state DOL said the practice was already prohibited by the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration. The legislation was modeled on a law enacted in New York City last year.