California · Labor Code

LAB §2673.2: (a) To ensure that employees are paid for all hours worked, an employee engaged in the performance of garment manufacturing shall not be paid by the piece or unit, or by the piece rate.

What this law says, in plain English

Garment manufacturing employees must be paid by time rather than by piece or unit rate to ensure compensation for all hours worked.

Read the full statutory text
(a) To ensure that employees are paid for all hours worked, an employee engaged in the performance of garment manufacturing shall not be paid by the piece or unit, or by the piece rate. Employees engaged in the performance of garment manufacturing shall be paid at an hourly rate not less than the applicable minimum wage. (b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit incentive-based bonuses. (c) This section shall not apply to workplaces where employees are covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement, if the agreement expressly provides for wages, hours of work, and working conditions of the employees; premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked and a regular hourly rate of pay for those employees of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage; stewards or monitors; and a process to resolve disputes concerning nonpayment of wages. (d) In addition to, and entirely independent and apart from, any other damages or penalties provided in this code, any garment manufacturer or contractor who violates subdivision (a) shall be subject to compensatory damages of two hundred dollars ($200) per employee for each pay period in which each employee is paid by the piece rate. (e) This section may be enforced solely by filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner against the contractor or garment manufacturer, if known. Garment manufacturers or contractors whose identity or existence is unknown at the time that the claim is filed may be added to the claim pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 2673.1. (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Labor Commissioner may also bring an action to enforce this section under Section 98.3 or issue a citation against the garment manufacturer or contractors who violate this section. Those garment manufacturers or contractors shall be subject to compensatory damages of two hundred dollars ($200) per employee paid by the piece rate per pay period. The procedure for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations issued by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be the same as those set forth in subdivisions (b) to (l), inclusive, of Section 1197.1. (g) Any statutory damages or penalties recovered or assessed in an action brought under, or a citation issued by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to, this section or Section 98.3, shall be payable to the employee.

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