California begins e-registrations for garment producers

The labour commissioner’s office in California has launched an online system to make it easier for garment manufacturers to register as well as renew their registration certificates with the state. The online application is part of the department of industrial relations’ effort to upgrade departmental systems in order to improve customer service.

The new system introduced in California, the world’s sixth largest economy according to the bureau of economic analysis, allows companies to save their application in progress and submit it when completed along with the required attachments. Fees can be paid using credit cards or electronic funds transfer. A checklist and instructions for the applicants have also been posted on the website.

“Garment registration laws help to combat sweatshop conditions and root out the underground economy. This new online registration system offers garment manufacturers or contractors an easy way to apply for, or renew, registration certificates to comply with the law,” said Julie A Su, labour commissioner, California.

The Garment Manufacturing Act of 1980 requires that all employers engaged in the business of garment manufacturing to register with the labour commissioner and demonstrate adequate character, competency, and responsibility, including workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

Garment manufacturers who contract with unregistered entities are automatically deemed joint employers of the workers in the contract facility. The labour commissioner’s office has posted a garment registration database that details whether manufacturers or contractors are properly registered or not.

The labour commissioner’s office, formally known as the division of labor standards enforcement (DLSE), is a division of the department of industrial relations (DIR).

Among its wide-ranging enforcement responsibilities, the labour commissioner’s office inspects workplaces for wage and hour violations, adjudicates wage claims, enforces prevailing wage rates and apprenticeship standards in public works projects, investigates retaliation complaints, issues licenses and registrations for businesses and educates the public on labour laws.