Unions, Clothing Industry Groups Sue in Bid to Block Work at Home

Unions and clothing industry groups filed suit Thursday in an attempt to block new government regulations that would allow work at home in five industries after a 40-year ban.

The suit contends that the Labor Department regulations, scheduled to take effect Monday, do not contain adequate safeguards to prevent violations of laws governing minimum wage, child labor, maximum work hours and workplace safety.

In addition, the lawsuit attacks the department’s record of enforcing regulations covering home work in the knitted outerwear industry--which has been legal for the last four years--and asks that the government be ordered to consider reinstating the ban in that field.

Criticism Rejected

Labor Department officials said they had not seen the suit, filed in U.S. District Court here, and would not comment on most aspects. But they rejected its characterization of enforcement of labor laws in the knitted outerwear industry.

“It’s just not true that the department cannot enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act in a home-work environment,” said Alan McMillan, a deputy assistant secretary. “We absolutely feel that we can.”

In asking that the new regulations be voided, the suit says the department’s “inadequate . . . insufficient” efforts to monitor home work in the knitted outerwear industry demonstrated that it could not protect against potentially widespread violations in the five new fields.

The five industries covered by the rules are gloves and mittens, buttons and buckles, handkerchiefs, embroideries and, to a limited extent, jewelry.

“We have seen in the past 10 years the return of the sweatshop, in almost all cases because of industrial home work,” said Susan Cowell, vice president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, the lead party in the suit.