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September 3, 2010

LA Garment Factory to Pay Workers Unpaid Overtime, Allow Monitor
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A Los Angeles garment company, meanwhile, has reached a settlement over
allegations it subjected workers to sweatshop-like conditions. Around
fifty minimum-wage workers accused Seventeen Incorporated of forcing
them to work twelve-hour shifts, sometimes back to back, without breaks
or overtime for six days a week. The workers also say they were exposed
to harmful chemicals, a cockroach and rodent infestation, with no way of
leaving the factory at nighttime in case of emergency. The factory has
supplied clothes to well-known retailers including Forever 21 and
Macy’s. Under the settlement, workers will receive compensation for
unpaid overtime. And in what prosecutors call an unprecedented provision
for a US-based factory, Seventeen agreed to allow an independent monitor
observe the factory for a year.



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