Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Alexander Wang Runs TriBeCa Sweatshop, Lawsuit Claims

By Julie Shapiro | March 6, 2012 10:49am
Alexander Wang, a young fashion designer, is being sued for $50 million for allegedly overworking the people who make his clothes.
Alexander Wang, a young fashion designer, is being sued for $50 million for allegedly overworking the people who make his clothes.
View Full Caption
Theo Wargo/Getty Images

TRIBECA — Fashion designer Alexander Wang is running a sweatshop in TriBeCa, a lawsuit alleges.

Thirty workers who sew Wang's trademark grungy-chic designs claim in a lawsuit that they were forced to toil 16 hours a day or more with no overtime pay in a tiny, windowless room at 386 Broadway, the New York Post reported.

The $50 million lawsuit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, accuses Wang and his brother Dennis Wang of creating such an unhealthy environment that many of the workers were injured or got sick, the Post reported.

One of the workers, Wenyu Lu, 56, claims he passed out and was hospitalized after being forced to work 25 hours without a break. He says he was fired on Feb. 16 after complaining about the working conditions, the Post reported.

Wang's corporate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.