One Clothing Ordered to Pay Back Wages
Los Angeles juniorswear company One Clothing has been ordered to pay dozens of sewing workers more than $55,000 in back wages after a federal investigation showed the company failed to pay for overtime.
The company, located near the downtown Los Angeles Fashion District, will also have to pay a $990 penalty for violating the child-labor provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act, federal sources said. A contractor was cited for employing a worker under the age of 14, said Rich Kulczewski of the U.S. Department of Labor.
In a lawsuit filed March 6 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the U.S. Department of Labor claimed that 88 garment employees working for several sewing contractors used by One Clothing were not paid overtime wages. The suit was filed after an investigation was launched in late 2007 of O & K Inc., the parent company of One Clothing, founded by Alex Ok.
The company has agreed to pay the $55,152 in back wages and the civil penalty, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. —Deborah Belgum
