"They absolutely understand the rules that apply in the employment law space and are keen to make sure their employees are on the minimum wage rate," Harford said.
"It's certainly not acceptable to be exploiting staff by paying workers less than $14.75 an hour minimum wage and our understanding is that most retailers and certainly most reputable retailers will be paying people well above that."
Chief Labour Inspectorate George Mason said there were a number of risk factors that made South Auckland of considerable interest.
"It's a young workforce in South Auckland, many migrants in the workforce and many of the sectors we find are problematic for us like hospitality, retail, horticulture and construction work.
Listen to George Mason's interview here:
"We've carried out audits of labour hire companies and we've been concerned at the improper treatment of the workers."
The workers were categorised as contractors and were denied holiday and leave entitlements, Mason said.
Khoobsurat, an Indian clothing store in Papatoetoe, was ordered to pay $30,000 in penalties and more than $18,500 in arrears for lost wages and holiday pay to two employees after an Employment Court decision in July.
The case has similarities to an earlier employment breach where workers at Auckland's Masala restaurants were found to be paid as little as $2 an hour. The owners of the company were eventually sentenced to a combined 15 months' home detention in October on immigration and exploitation charges.
They were also ordered to jointly pay more than $60,000 in arrears and penalties to four members of staff.
