A report issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Labor revealed a significant decrease in minimum wage and time and a-half overtime violations by New York City garment factories during the period from 1999 to 2001. Among the sixty-seven companies investigated, minimum wage compliance increased by ten percent to ninety-three percent compliance, and overtime pay compliance increased twenty percent to sixty-two percent compliance. The head of the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division was quick to point out that although the improvements represented a significant change in an industry notorious for its sweatshops and labor and wage law violations, much improvement is still needed.
See "Study Finds Garment Jobs More in Line With the Law", STEVEN GREENHOUSE, The New York Times, March 28, 2002