A survey of Southern California garment-sewing contractors and manufacturers by the US Department of Labour has found workers making garments sold by many of the nation’s leading fashion retailers often continue to be victims of wage theft and employers’ illegal pay practices.
Contractors and manufacturers included in the survey produce garments for sale by national retailers that include Nordstrom, Bombshell Sportswear, Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s, Lulus, Socialite, Stitch Fix and Von Maur.
Based on data from more than 50 contractors and manufacturers, the 2022 Southern California Garment Survey released by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labour Standards Act in 80 per cent of its investigations.
More than 50 per cent of the time, the division found employers illegally paying workers part or all their wages off the books, with payroll records either deliberately forged or not provided.
The fiscal year 2022 survey also found 32 per cent of contractors paying garment workers piece-rate wages, a practice prohibited by the State of California on January 1st 2022.
In a particularly egregious case, division investigators learned a contractor paid garment workers as little as US $ 1.58 per hour.
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