Twelve of the women were allegedly hospitalized. The alleged punishment of 100 Vietnamese workers in 1996 after a tray of fruit for supervisors was spilled. Workers were allegedly forced to stand in the sun an hour. The alleged restriction in some Vietnamese operations of breaks for trips to the bathroom and water to one or two per eight-hour shift. Plaintiffs may obtain injunctions and compel restitution going back four years.
Lawyers say the law is unclear as to the basis for restitution - revenues or profits.
Marc read an article about Nike factory conditions. This is a target audience. The attorneys will be paid only if they win the case. When asked Monday if Nike's alleged practices were standard for its industry, the attorneys declined to draw comparisons. But Dara O'Rourke , a U.N. waste-management consultant who leaked a damaging internal audit of Nike last year, said he suspected conditions at U.S. footwear factories were superior to foreign factories because of federal regulation.