US Department of Labour recently conducted 77 investigations at randomly selected garment contractors in Southern California and found violations 85 per cent of the time, resulting in US $ 1.3 million in back wages for 865 workers.
The contractors were working for both bargain retailers such as Ross and TJ Maxx, and high-end stores including Nordstrom. Wage violations have long been commonplace in the fashion industry, but officials say the number of violations are now at a record high.
The most common violations noted were not paying the minimum wage or failing to pay overtime. Officials say most workers in the garment industry are immigrants with limited English skills who often don’t know their rights.
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Ruben J. Rosalez, Regional Administrator – Department of Labour’s Wage and Hour Division commented, “Enough is enough… After 29 years with this agency, it really saddens me that the industry has gotten worse, the underground economy has gotten worse, and sweatshops still exist in America. The supply chain is not monitoring for this problem. We need the retailers to come to the table to help us.”
However, Ilse Metchek, President, California Fashion Association states that every industry employs workers that are employed off the books and she questioned the methodology of the Department of Labour’s study, going on to say that the searches weren’t random and focused on those who have offended before. That said, she further added that retailers can do a much better job of making sure their goods come from factories that treat workers fairly.
