Some Southern California ‘sweatshop’ garment workers paid as little as $1.58 an hour, says report

California

Southern California workers who make garments for many of the nation’s leading fashion retailers remain victims of wage theft and illegal pay practices, with some earning as little as $1.58 per hour, according to a new U.S. Department of Labor report.

From July 31, 2021, to June 30, 2022, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division conducted 50 investigations of randomly selected garment contractors in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties to estimate the prevalence of violations within the industry.

Violations were found for 80% of the contractors surveyed, resulting in more than $892,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 296 workers.

Half of workers paid off books

In more than half of the cases investigated by the Wage and Hour Division, employers illegally paid garment workers part or all of their wages off the books, with payroll records either deliberately forged or not provided, according to the Department of Labor report released last week.

“Despite our efforts to hold Southern California’s garment industry employers accountable, we continue to see people who make clothes sold by some of the nation’s leading retailers working in sweatshops,” Wage and Hour Regional Administrator Ruben Rosalez said in a statement.

“Many people shopping for clothes in stores and online are likely unaware that the ‘Made in the USA’ merchandise they’re buying was, in fact, made by people earning far less than the U.S. law requires,” he said.

The survey also found that 32% of the contractors paid garment workers piece-rate wages, a practice prohibited by the state in 2022.

Although California law requires that garment workers be paid an hourly rate that is not less than the minimum wage, the survey found, in a particularly egregious case, a contractor working for Nordstrom and Stitch Fix paid employees $1.58 an hour, Michael Eastwood, director of enforcement for the Wage and Hour Division’s Western Region, said Tuesday, March 28.

The Wage and Hour Division also investigated contractors and manufacturers who work for Dillards and Neiman Marcus. None of the companies responded to requests for comment.

Many garment workers are immigrants

Many woefully underpaid garment workers — most of whom are immigrants — suffer in silence and refuse to complain to authorities, Eastwood said. “They are vulnerable, scared and worry about being fired or retaliated against,” he added.

About 20,000 garment workers are employed in the Los Angeles Fashion District, which encompasses 107 blocks and is the hub of local and national garment manufacturing. Los Angeles leads domestic garment production, accounting for about 83% of California’s and the nation’s cut-and-sew apparel sales.

“There is no other place with this many skilled workers, with 21 years experience for the average Los Angeles garment worker,” said Jonathan Coleman, a spokesperson for the Garment Worker Center, an anti-sweatshop organization headquartered in the Fashion District.

The Wage and Hour Division conducted time and pricing studies and found that sewing fees paid by manufacturers to contractors were — on average — not enough for the contractors to properly pay their workers’ required minimum wages.

Specifically, the studies determined the average sewing fee was $2.75 below the amount needed per garment for sewing contractors to comply with federal wage standards. Contractors who paid employees in compliance with the law received a higher sewing fee, ranging from $17.50 to $35 per garment, according to the Department of Labor report.

The Department of Labor’s findings are troubling but not surprising, Coleman said.

“Like the data suggests, there are both signs of growth and change and some of the usual suspects demonstrating familiar patterns of exploitation,” Coleman said. “Though the Department of Labor’s findings show wage theft continues, we know that with time and strong enforcement, legislation … will create change in this industry.

“We also believe the agency needs more authority to enforce the existing laws, and we’re here to support that effort.”

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