GCA Retains Attorney to Contest AB633 Labor Law Requirements
The Garment Contractors Association (GCA), a Los Angeles-based contractor organization, has retained attorney Richard Simmons from the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton to review state regulations stemming from the implementation of AB633, the law passed in 1999 that would extend liability from labor law violations throughout the apparel-production supply chain.
At press time, Joe Rodriguez, GCA executive director, was headed to San Francisco for the first of two public hearings about the regulations, scheduled for Oct. 4. The second hearing is planned for Oct. 12 in Los Angeles.
Rodriguez said his organization is contesting several provisions of the regulations. Among them are the following:
bull; A requirement that an employer pay its employees’ legal fees, regardless of the amount of the claim or the amount of any eventual settlement. This requirement would place a burden on contractors and would encourage fraudulent claims, Rodriguez argues.
bull; A requirement that contractors track what labels each employee is producing and list on each employee’s pay stub the name of all manufacturers and the percentage the employee worked on each. Rodriguez called this requirement “burdensome” and prone to error.
bull; A requirement increasing contractors’ and manufacturers’ annual registration fees. Depending on the size of the company, these fees can range from $250 to $2,500.
The GCA’s move may develop into a lawsuit following the hearings in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he would next gauge the mood among GCA members and determine whether the group has industry support before determining whether the group will go “all the way to the mat as far as entering a formal lawsuit.”
The GCA has landed the support of the Apparel Contractors Alliance of California, an association representing the GCA, the American Chinese Garment Contractors Association, the Korean American Garment Contractors Association and the Northern California Chinese Garment Contractors Association.
However, Rodriguez said he is so far uncertain of what form that support would take.
“Because we had to act so expeditiously, the conclusion we reached is, we have to do this ourselves,” he said.
But the GCA hopes to get support from beyond the contracting community, Rodriguez said, adding that he has already received phone calls about the new requirements from manufacturers.
“We’re a tiny organization in the perspective of the entire industry,” said Rodriguez, who added: “We’re going to be carrying on a fight for the interest of the great majority of the industry. —Alison A. Nieder
