Garment Manufacturer Charged With Wage Theft Cited for Lack of Comp Coverage

The first company to be charged under a new California law criminalizing wage theft was also fined more than $81,000 for failure to carry workers’ compensation coverage. The Labor Commissioner’s Office on Thursday said it has partnered with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for the first criminal prosecution of a business for grand theft of wages since the new law took effect Jan. 1, 2022. Lawrence Lee, co-owner of garment manufacturer business Parbe Inc., and Soon Ae Park, a garment contractor who the LCO said has a history of wage theft, have been arraigne...