In the spirit of moderation and healing divisions in our state, we are meeting with industry representatives to seek agreement on a solution that preserves a healthy industry and protects workers. The bill as currently drafted and passed by the Labor and Employment Committee uses employers' fines to fund stricter enforcement. It increases penalties on employers who violate the law, by thumbing their noses at California law and refusing to pay fines. It allows garments manufactured by scofflaw employers to be tagged with a warning label for consumers. One of the bill's most important and misunderstood provisions creates joint liability for manufacturers and retailers with private labels.
Joint liability is the only reliable method for cleaning up sweatshops in the garment industry.
It makes retailers share the responsibility with the profits. Joint liability means that retailers have to ask whether their contractors are providing hot goods for resale in this case, where wages, benefits and safety have been stolen from workers. Another key provision allows employees of bankrupt corporations to collect unpaid wages before corporate creditors. Allowing workers, particularly low-wage workers, to collect back wages before banks and corporate lenders draw the last of an employers' assets is simply fair play. Employees at bankrupt corporations suffer enough loss.