California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 6 - Division of Labor Standards Enforcement › Subchapter 8 - Garment Manufacturers › Section 13658 - Labor Commissioner's Enforcement of Liability Against Contractors, Manufacturers and Brand Guarantors

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
				  The Labor Commissioner may, during the course of an investigation pursuant to
				  Labor Code Section
				  2673.1(i),
				  serve a subpoena duces tecum on any contractor, manufacturer, or brand
				  guarantor subject to the investigation in order to examine any books and
				  records as may be necessary to determine the amount of wages or other
				  compensation that may be owed to any employees and the identity of any
				  potential manufacturers or brand guarantors for payment of the unpaid wages,
				  damages, or penalties. The failure to comply with such a request for books and
				  records, within 10 days of service of the notice, shall constitute grounds for
				  revocation of registration or denial of an application for
				  registration.
(b) The Labor
				  Commissioner may perform a payroll audit based on the relevant documentation
				  and information received during the course of the investigation. If the Labor
				  Commissioner decides to proceed against any manufacturers or brand guarantors,
				  the Labor Commissioner shall issue findings and an assessment of the amount of
				  the liability of each manufacturer and brand guarantor. The Labor Commissioner
				  shall schedule a meet-and-confer conference with the brand guarantors,
				  manufacturers, contractors, and affected employees to attempt to resolve the
				  matter, and shall provide written notice to each brand guarantor, manufacturer,
				  contractor, and affected employee, to the extent that the identities and
				  whereabouts of such persons are known, of the assessment and the date, time,
				  location and purpose of the meet-and-confer conference.
(c) During the meet-and-confer conference,
				  the Labor Commissioner's investigator shall present their findings and
				  assessment of wages, damages, and penalties, including interest, owed and the
				  liability of each manufacturer and brand guarantor, and shall make a demand for
				  payment of the amount of the assessment. In the event that the amounts found
				  due are not paid within 10 days of the conclusion of the meet-and-confer
				  conference, the Labor Commissioner shall set the matter for an investigative
				  hearing. The brand guarantors, manufacturers, contractors and affected
				  employees, to the extent that the identities and whereabouts of such persons
				  are known, shall be provided with written notice of the date, time, location,
				  and purpose of the investigative hearing.
(d) The hearing conducted under this section
				  shall be investigative in nature, and the purpose of the hearing is to assist
				  the Labor Commissioner in deciding whether to initiate a civil action pursuant
				  to Labor Code Section
				  2673.1(i).
				  The provisions of Government Code Sections
				  11400,
et seq.
are not applicable to this hearing. The Labor
				  Commissioner may subpoena the attendance of witnesses and the production of
				  records to the hearing as provided by Labor Code Section
				  92. The hearing
				  officer shall inquire fully into all matters at issue. The hearing may be
				  electronically recorded, and testimony shall be given under oath or
				  affirmation. In the hearing officer's discretion, the parties may be permitted
				  to call, examine, and cross-examine witnesses, and to introduce documentary
				  evidence. The hearing shall be informal, and shall not be conducted in
				  accordance with technical and formal rules of evidence. Evidence shall be
				  admitted if it is the sort of evidence upon which responsible persons are
				  accustomed to rely upon in the conduct of serious affairs. The investigator's
				  findings and assessment shall be admitted into evidence, provided the
				  investigator is available to testify thereto. Within thirty days after the
				  close of the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written recommended
				  disposition of the case, stating the amounts, if any, that the hearing officer
				  believes are owed by the contractors, manufacturers, and brand guarantors. The
				  hearing officer's recommended disposition shall have no res judicata or
				  collateral estoppel effect, and shall be entitled to no weight in any
				  subsequently filed civil action.
(e) If the matter is not resolved to the
				  Labor Commissioner's satisfaction within 10 days of the issuance of the hearing
				  officer's recommended disposition, the Labor Commissioner may thereupon file a
				  civil action to enforce the liability found, and for any other appropriate
				  relief. Any manufacturers or brand guarantors whose identity or existence was
				  unknown at the time of the investigative hearing may be sued in the civil
				  action without the necessity of further administrative proceedings.
(f) The time limits set forth in Labor Code
				  Section
				  2673.1(d)
				  shall not apply to any proceedings under this section.
(g) All notices under this section may be
				  served by regular first class mail to the last known address of the affected
				  employees, contractors, manufacturers, and brand guarantors, including the last
				  known address of record as set forth on the most recent application for
				  registration for any party required to register.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
						2672 and
						2673.1, Labor
						Code. Reference: Sections
						92,
						98.3,
						1193.6,
						1194.5 and
						2673.1, Labor
						Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections
						2672 and
						2673.1(j),
						Labor Code. Reference: Sections
						92,
						98.3,
						1193.6,
						1194.5 and
						2673.1, Labor
						Code.