In mid-March, when the coronavirus spread to New York, Washington state, California and New Jersey, and the crisis in the shortage of personal protective equipment grew, Dov Charney of Los Angeles Apparel was one of the first retailers in clothes on stepping into the void.
Upon reopening his Los Angeles factory to produce facial masks, Mr. Charney, the former CEO of American Apparel who was ousted amid allegations of misappropriation of funds and who knowingly allowed sexual harassment, became a pariah of the industry champion.
Los Angeles Apparel, his new company, was considered an essential business. The federal government became a customer, Charney said. The long road to redemption seemed suddenly much shorter.
But on July 10, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ordered Mr. Charney’s manufacturing facility to be closed: An investigation found more than 300 confirmed infections among garment workers, and four deaths. Three of the deaths were in June and one in July.
In a press release detailing the shutdown, the health department cited “blatant violations of mandatory public health infection control orders” and not “cooperating with DPH’s investigation of a reported COVID-19 outbreak.”
This is one of the first forced factory closings in Los Angeles due to outbreaks related to the coronavirus, according to Jan King, the regional health officer for South and West Los Angeles. Although the health department conducts numerous investigations, they are generally resolved through actions with the companies involved.
“Business owners and operators have a corporate, moral, and social responsibility to their employees and their families to provide a safe work environment that complies with all directives of health officials: this responsibility is important, now more than ever, as we continue to fight. this deadly virus, “said Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, in a statement about the closure, which contained a timeline for the investigation.
In a phone call, Mr. Charney called the ad “media theatrical” and said, “I don’t think the press release represents the point of view of the people I’m working with in the health department. Some of them have apologized to me. It is not true. “
He also issued a long statement in response, which said, in part: “To be fair, it is morally irresponsible for the Health Department to talk about infection rates in our factory without also addressing its connection to the problem in general: that the community Latina in Los Angeles is vulnerable to Covid-19 in a healthcare system that does not provide testing support or support or assistance for those who test positive. “
Now, both Mr. Charney and the health department say they are working together to solve the problems so that the facility can reopen and business (and employment) can continue; they both say their only concern is worker safety.
However, the drama unfolds under a spotlight, due to Mr. Charney’s complicated professional history and due to recent revelations about the Los Angeles garment sector.
The phrase “Made in the United States” is often viewed as an abbreviation for products that are ethically manufactured. But reports in recent years of exploitative conditions and wage levels, including an investigation by The New York Times of factories in Los Angeles that supply fast-fashion brand Fashion Nova, have debunked that myth.
Los Angeles Apparel opened in 2016 and employs just under 2,000 workers in three buildings, according to Mr. Charney. Since the coronavirus began, more than 10 million masks have been produced, Charney said, of which about 80 percent went to government agencies.
Mr. Charney said that all employees had been wearing face covers and that the machines were spaced six feet apart. He said the equipment and space were regularly disinfected, and that the company had been regularly testing employees for the past five weeks.
On June 19, a nurse contacted the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health about a possible outbreak at Los Angeles Apparel, according to authorities.
The health department opened an investigation, which included a request that the company send a list of all employees, a request that the health department said was not honored even after multiple appeals. On June 26, the health department made a site visit and the next day the factory was closed.
According to Ms. King, the violations discovered included cardboard barriers between workstations and coronavirus guidance materials that had not been translated into Spanish (the first language of most employees). An official also discovered the lack of training on health protocols, so when asked by a doctor, the employee who was supposed to be examining his colleagues for symptoms couldn’t list what they were, even though they were posted. on the wall behind the employee. .
While some of the infractions were minor, King said, there was a feeling that the company was not taking seriously the documents the health department had sent that listed the changes that needed to be made. As a result, the research team went from one person to around 10.
The factory reopened briefly on July 9 before being forced to close again.
Mr. Charney disputed almost all of these facts. He said that it was the company itself that first alerted the health department of the situation; that the company had been making best efforts to provide the requested list of employees but that there were privacy concerns involved; that cardboard was in addition to social distancing regulations (and had been recommended by a consultant because the virus does not live long in cardboard).
He also said it was the responsibility of the health department to translate his documents into Spanish, not the responsibility of the company.
The legal department of the health department, he said, had told him the factory could reopen on July 9, although King said a written document was required first to allow the reopening. Mr. Charney attributed the confusion to “miscommunication” in an overloaded department.
“Three hundred is a very worrying outbreak,” King said of the people who had fallen ill.
The factory remains closed, according to the Health Department statement, until “they can demonstrate that the facility fully meets Public Health mandates,” but the hope for both the health department and Mr. Charney is to reopen later. this week.
Both sides are, Ms. King said, “in constant contact.” Mr. Charney said he was “learning a lot”.
