Retailers to Probe Sweatshop Allegations

Nordstrom Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and May Department Stores Co. said they would investigate their contractor operations in Saipan in the wake of a lawsuit accusing them and 14 other retailers and apparel manufacturers of using indentured labor at garment production sites in that U.S. territory. The suit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of 15,000 immigrant workers in Saipan, also alleges that Saipan contractors failed to pay overtime. The three retailers said they have policies prohibiting their suppliers from violating labor laws. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which was also named in the suit, said it has no contractors in Saipan. Gap Inc., also a defendant, said it does not condone labor violations by suppliers. Three other major retail defendants--Dayton Hudson Corp., Limited Inc. and Sears, Roebuck Co.--had no immediate comment on the suit.