The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review the Second Circuit's decision that a jury properly decided Liberty Apparel Co. Inc. and a contractor were “joint employers” of 25 Chinese garment workers who accused the company of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The high court's decision to deny Liberty's petition for a writ of certiorari closes the book on a wage dispute brought more than a decade ago by the 25 workers, who Liberty claimed were not its employees because they worked for a factory to which the company contracted the assembly of its garments.  “This is it,” James Reif of Gladstein Reif & Meginniss LLP, who represents the workers, told Law360. “They're out of excuses, and they're out of further delays.”

The workers' FLSA suit has an arduous history. It dates back to 1999, when the workers, who lived and worked in New York's Chinatown, filed suit against factory owner and operator Lai Huen Yam, as well as Liberty and two of its principals.  The dealings between Yam and Liberty were nonexclusive. Liberty contracted with as many as 40 other factories, and Yam also contracted with other apparel companies, according to a Second Circuit ruling. But as much as 80 percent of the plaintiffs' work was done on Liberty garments, the ruling said.  The plaintiffs — who were paid by the garment — worked an average of 85 hours per week, often more. They were paid below federal and state minimum wages, and never compensated for overtime, the appeals court said.  Yam was eventually dismissed from the litigation, either because he could not be located or he had ceased doing business, according to the Second Circuit.  A New York federal court initially granted summary judgment in favor of Liberty, but the Second Circuit reversed that decision in 2003 on the grounds that the lower court used the wrong test for determining joint employment. (click on link to read full story)