California Sweatshops Caught Underpaying Workers in DOL Investigation

An investigation into California sweatshops reveals labor violations are a common occurrence at many domestic garment manufacturers.

The U.S. Department of Labor says it discovered the violations in the course of several dozen investigations conducted this year.

The Department says it conducted 77 investigations of randomly selected garment factories in Southern California. The investigation revealed labor violations 85 percent of the time.

According to the investigation, the most common California sweatshop violation in 2016 was wage theft, in the form of failure to pay minimum wage and failure to pay overtime.

Investigators say they were able to secure a total of $1.3 million in back wages and liquidated damages, covering back wages for 865 short-changed employees. One seamstress with 40 years of experience was awarded $7,598 in back wages.

In addition to having to pay the back wages and liquidated damages, California sweatshops were hit with over $65,000 in civil penalties.

Investigators say most of the California sweatshops discovered were making clothes for particular discount retailers.

Many of the non-conforming contractors were making clothes for TJ Maxx, Forever 21 and Ross Stores Inc. Ross products were found at 11 offending facilities, and products destined for TJ Maxx and Forever 21 were found at seven factories.

Discount retailers weren’t the only companies doing business with these California sweatshops, the investigators said. Some products found were on their way to be sold at Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Windsor, and Fashion Nova.

At Roger Garments, a single factory that makes garments for Macy’s, the investigators found 44 workers had been shorted a total of $93,000 in unpaid overtime and minimum wages.

Investigators made similar findings at EVE LA Inc., where 37 employees were owed $87,000 in unpaid wages. Workers at EVE LA were allegedly paid a flat salary of $270 per week for a 50-hour work week.

Market Pressure Leads to California Sweatshops

Because the retail market for clothing is so fiercely competitive, garment manufacturers have to work within a paper-thin profit margin. Combine that situation with those of many garment workers – who are often immigrants with limited English skills and little to no knowledge of their  legal rights – and you’ve got a recipe for labor abuses.

According to Ruben J. Rosalez, the regional administrator for the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, labor abuses among garment manufacturers have gotten worse during his 29-year tenure with the agency.

Rosalez says the industry itself and the underground economy have both gotten worse, and “sweatshops still exist in America.”

Although the investigation revealed many retailers who were doing business with the offending factories, the Department of Labor notes that it can only penalize the factories – not the retailers who buy the factories’ products.

Both Ross and Forever 21 issued statements applauding the investigation while dissociating themselves from the factories.

Rosalez believes statements are not enough. “We need the retailers to come to the table to help us,” he says. “We need them to take that next step and actually have a full monitoring program and work with us.”

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