Apparel Workers Win $805,676 Pay Judgment

In a potentially groundbreaking legal victory for laborers in the abuse-ridden apparel industry, 19 Los Angeles garment workers who claimed they were denied minimum wages and overtime pay have won a judgment of $805,676 against their former employers.

Federal and state officials called it one of the nation’s biggest back-pay awards ever in a garment industry case, and perhaps the largest in California.

The case, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1990, is one of the rare instances in which a group of Latino apparel workers banded together to fight for back pay in court. Given the sometimes-shadowy nature of apparel contracting and the large number of undocumented immigrants in the industry, authorities say, many garment workers are reluctant to turn to the courts or government agencies for help.

Yet the legal triumph could be an empty one for the 19 plaintiffs: Their lawyers and other workers rights advocates fear the laborers never will receive a dime because authorities do not know the whereabouts of the defendants, most of whom are Thai immigrants.

The $805,676 award was entered March 2 as a default judgment by Robert W. Zakon, a Superior Court judge pro tem. None of the defendants in the case--five individuals and three firms that operated in a plant on West Venice Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles--ever responded to the complaint.

When the civil suit was filed, the plaintiffs said they had done tasks such as sewing fabric on a piecework basis for as little as $1 an hour and, at times, labored for more than 70 hours a week without overtime pay. In another instance, employers were accused of withholding two weeks’ pay, calling it a loan to the company and refusing to repay the money.

After complaining publicly about the abuse, all 19 of the workers claimed that they were fired, although some of them later were hired back.

Still, many observers downplay the significance of the court victory. The garment workers and their lawyers fought for a judgment “that probably will be unenforceable,” said Steve Nutter, the Los Angeles-based regional director of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.

“This case shows that there’s a big problem, but the ultimate result will show we don’t have a solution,” added Nutter. His union is backing state legislation intended to improve apparel workers’ chances of recovering back pay by enabling them to seek damages from apparel contractors’ customers as well as the contractors themselves.

Joseph Rodriguez, executive director of the Garment Contractors Assn. of Southern California, expressed doubt that the judgment will have any impact on wrongdoers in his industry if no money is collected.

The award “is not going to put the fear of God in people because it’s just a piece of paper at this point,” said Rodriguez, whose group represents more than 200 Southland apparel contractors.

But lawyers at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles who represented the 19 garment workers said they hoped the default judgment will “send a message” to exploitative apparel contractors.

“Even though there are widespread violations now, they can’t get away with paying low wages with impunity, in that some number of workers will come forward and seek legal redress,” said Fran Bernstein, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Foundation.

Michelle Yu Kim, another Legal Aid Foundation lawyer for the garment workers, said attorneys would meet with the plaintiffs soon to try to determine where the defendants are. Lawyers said the plant where the plaintiffs worked still is open, but currently is operated by people who say they have no connection to the previous owners.

Lawyers expressed concern that several of the defendants may have fled California for Thailand. Kim declined to say whether any of the plaintiffs, who could not be reached for comment, are illegal immigrants, but noted that undocumented workers have legal standing to sue when they have been denied minimum wages or overtime pay.

The judgment comes amid a highly publicized wave of surprise inspections by state officials of apparel contractors’ shops suspected of workplace abuses. One of the most recent sweeps took place in the Los Angeles area Tuesday night, when a total of 29 violations were found and $28,500 in fines were assessed in 64 inspections. Most of the charges involved minimum-wage and overtime pay record-keeping violations and failure to pay workers’ compensation insurance.

Regulators say that the garment industry, always prone to abuse, may be even more exploitative because of the recession. Contractors pinched by declining business, regulators say, may be putting further pressure on employees to work for low pay and in unsafe conditions. In addition, workers are even more fearful of complaining, given the weak job market.

The judgment awarded last week includes a principal sum of $674,553, plus interest of $114,299 and attorney’s fees of $16,824. For the 19 plaintiffs individually, the potential awards range from $19,656 for Ana Gloria Chacon to $81,840 for Pedro Rodriguez.