30/08/2020 SB 1399 makes retailers accountable for garment worker pay - Los Angeles Times Her claim lists three employers at that address, including Chung Dress and its owner Sane Chung. She provided labels in her wage claim indicating she made clothes for Frame, a new upscale lifestyle brand in Culver City, and Good American, a “body positivity” brand co-founded by Khloe Kardashian that sells casual clothing for women of all sizes. Chung denied to The Times that the woman was the victim of wage theft and said the complaint was retaliation for being laid off when work slowed. He also said she worked not for him but for a third company — a subcontractor he used when Chung Dress had more work than it could handle but that dissolved after the work ran out. It was run by a friend who sublet space. Chung said he had submitted payroll records to the state that back up his innocence. “I understand there are a lot of employers that, you know, do shady things, that don’t pay well, but what happens to the people like me? I’m fair. I did everything the right way and I still get dinged,” he said. Labor advocates say thousands of immigrant workers can sometimes toil for far less than the minimum wage in small Los Angeles apparel factories, such as the one above on South Hill Street. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) ADVERTISEMENT Frame issued a statement that it is “committed to the highest ethical standards” and works “diligently to ensure that each factory we work with complies with these regulations through our agreements.” It also said it had no knowledge of the third-party wage claim and could not comment on it. Good American did not respond to repeated emails for comment. It’s also possible to try to hold retailers liable for wage violations at garment factories by proving that a purchase order was put out at a cost that could not possibly be met without shortchanging workers. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-08-17/fashion-brands-garment-workers-sb1399-joint-liability-piece-rate 8/13