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Queens factory was illegal sweatshop, state says

5:55 PM EDT, July 23, 2008

NEW YORK - A garment manufacturer that made clothing for Macy's, the Gap and other retailers cheated its workers out of $5.5 million in wages, state labor officials said Wednesday.

Employees at the Jin Shun Inc. factory in Queens put in 12-hour days, six or seven days a week, but weren't paid overtime or a proper minimum wage, authorities said.

Most of the employees were Chinese immigrants.

State Department of Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith said that besides paying "sweatshop wages," the company engaged in an illegal cover-up.

Workers kept two sets of time cards to disguise their hours, and managers coached employees to lie to investigators, she said. The company also changed its name several times, doing business most recently under the name Garlee NY Inc.

State labor officials cited the company Wednesday with violating wage laws and falsifying employee time records.

They also entered the factory and applied tags to 10,000 garments, indicating they had been unlawfully manufactured. The tags were removed after the company that had hired Jin Shun to perform the work, Urban Apparel, paid a $60,000 penalty.

Smith said her department is seeking millions of dollars in back wages. She also will ask the Queens district attorney to consider criminal charges.

Attempts to reach a representative of Jin Shun on Wednesday were not immediately successful. A woman who answered the telephone at a number listed for Jin Shun Inc. in Queens said, "wrong number," and hung up. A message left at Urban Apparel was not immediately returned.

Several of the retailers that purchased clothing from the factory expressed dismay.

Gap said it had suspended any future production with the facility and would "fully cooperate with authorities to ensure the workers are treated fairly." A spokesman for Macy's said the store was "very concerned" and would investigate. Limited Brands said it had "zero tolerance" for vendors that violate labor standards.

Labor officials said the factory also made clothing for Express and Coldwater Creek.