More Retailers Settle Saipan Class Action

Eight more major clothing retailers have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleges sweatshop labor conditions in Saipan, a U.S. territory in the South Pacific, a spokesman for the plaintiffs said. The companies--Calvin Klein Inc., Jones Apparel Group, Liz Claiborne Inc., May Department Stores Co., Oshkosh B Gosh Inc., Sears, Roebuck & Co., Tommy Hilfiger USA Inc. and Warnaco Inc.--join nine others in agreeing to pay a total of about $8 million and adhere to a system of independent monitoring at the Saipan factories of contractors who produce their clothing. The suit is the first attempt to use federal racketeering laws to hold U.S. companies accountable for mistreatment of workers in foreign-owned factories operating on U.S. soil. A number of holdouts, including Gap Inc., refused to sign. The agreement requires court approval and does not involve an admission of wrongdoing by the defendants.