State Sweep Closes 30 Garment Factories
In one of the largest garment-factory sweeps in the last two years, labor inspectors visited 37 garment factories across Southern California and closed 30 of them for wage and labor violations.
The sweeps were conducted May 16 and 17 in Los Angeles as well as in Torrance, Calif., and Riverside and San Bernardino counties. They resulted in $969,850 in fines being issued.
The raids were conducted by a state task force called the Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition (EEEC).
EEEC deputies handed out citations for infractions that included underpayment of overtime, failure to pay minimum wage, child labor and failure to carry workers-compensation insurance.
Garment-industry advocate Joe Rodriguez greeted news of the EEEC sweeps as the right remedy to cure industry ills. “If these companies were not paying overtime, I have no problem with the EEEC enforcing these laws. Enforcement of existing laws is appropriate,” said Rodriguez, executive director for the Los Angeles–based Garment Contractors Association of Southern California.
But garment-workers advocate Christina Chung thought the sweeps were missing their mark. Chung, a senior staff attorney for the Los Angeles–based Asian-Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, claimed the EEEC sweeps rarely resulted in workers receiving unpaid wages.
EEEC spokesperson Dean Fryer said 11 of the companies caught in the sweep are undergoing audits for not paying minimum wage and overtime. He said that workers do receive unpaid wages. “But in all fairness, it does take time,” Fryer said.
Chung critiqued the state task force for keeping the scope of its enforcement activities focused on manufacturer contractors. Rather, they should also examine retailers and manufacturers connected to these contractors under the controversial 7-year-old state law AB633. This regulation requires that retailers and manufacturers be responsible for the wages of workers who make products that they sell, even if the worker is primarily employed with one of their contractors.
Garment manufacturers cited by the EEEC typically have 14 days to comply with the task force’s rules before they can appeal. The EEEC is a collaboration of the state’s Department of Industrial Relations and the Employment Development Department. The U.S. Department of Labor also participates. —Andrew Asch
