Garment manufacturers operating in the Los Angeles area have received a “dressing down” for safety hazards, including having exposed moving parts and unguarded pulleys on machinery, locked or blocked exit doors and exposed live wires in electrical panels.

Investigators with the Economic and Employment Enforcement Coalition (EEEC) issued 35 citations carrying $163,200 in fines after inspecting 21 garment manufacturers. All 21 had safety violations and 18 were found to be violating California labor laws.

Labor violations included:

Failure to keep records and post labor notices as mandated by law, Failure to provide workers’ compensation insurance, Failure to keep accurate records for three years, as required by garment manufacturers and, Failure to register as a garment manufacturer.

“Our effort is to root out California’s underground economy by targeting businesses that avoid labor, tax and licensing laws, safety and health regulations and carry no workers’ compensation insurance,” said EEEC Director David Dorame.

The coalition is a collaboration of California’s Department of Industrial Relations and the Employment Development Department. It conducts enforcement sweeps in the garment, agriculture, construction, pallet, car wash, auto body, restaurant and other industries to ensure that workers’ safety and labor rights are being respected by employers.