California Labor Law to Place Pressure on Pallet Makers for Violations

Sacramento, CAAn effort is being made by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to hold companies accountable for California labor law violations. The most recent focus of the effort has been pallet makers particularly in the Bay area. Many of the employers that produce the pallets have tried to fly under the radar of the Economic Employment Enforcement Coalition (EEEC) in California.

Many of the pallet makers start slip-shot operations that don't follow safety regulations and violate tax and employment laws. Recently, companies throughout the Bay area were cited for a total forty-nine violations. The total amount of revenue generated from the fines is approximately $567,000 for the violation of California labor laws.

As the investigations got underway, investigators for the state began to uncover not only violations against state laws, but the evidence of hazardous work conditions became apparent. The work violations not related to safety are: failure to pay minimum wage, failure to provide workers' compensation insurance to employees, and no provision of itemized wage summaries. The safety violations uncovered were: disabled safety fasteners on circular saws and various other electrical tools, no provision of ear plugs and safety glasses, no safety training for employees, and sub par working conditions.

A host of other violations were uncovered as well. Electrical equipment was found to be ungrounded in many cases. Workers were being required to work in mud that was up to their ankles. There were make-shift dormitories set up for workers on site that are unlawful, and there were no toilets provided at the work site for employees. The dormitory rooms had no electricity, heating, or plumbing provided in them.

The EEEC is an organization that was started by Governor Schwarzenegger in July, 2005. It is a network of agencies that works together to uncover employers that run their operation in an underground manner. The goal of the EEEC is to cause these employers to adhere to California labor laws for all employees. The EEEC in return wants to be sure that the employers are educated in regards to the laws and mandates in California. Experts for the EEEC have said that the underground employers that violate California labor laws make it difficult for the employers that are in compliance to prosper as they should.

When an investigation is implemented to research underground employers, a team of EEEC employees is put together. They generally take three weeks to look over an organization for violations. The types of employers that tend to have the largest amount of California labor law violations are: car washes, construction sites, farm laborers, garment makers, pallet makers, and restaurants. The violations are usually within industries that hire a lot of unskilled laborers for tasks requiring little to no skill. The EEEC plans to keep its focus placed on the pallet makers until they comply with the labor laws of the state. It's speculated that it will take about two years for the pallet makers to come into compliance. The EEEC is not looking for illegal immigrant employees, but believes that there may be a lot that are working for the pallet makers. The EEEC doesn't focus on looking for illegal workers.

By Delsia Hartford