State Raids 7 Homes in Garment Crackdown

California authorities, in a series of raids in Los Angeles County, said they uncovered seven homes where garments were being sewn in violation of the state’s ban on at-home production work. The state labor officials, who seized 30 bags of both labeled and unlabeled merchandise, said they are continuing their investigation and will soon issue citations to the contractors employing the home workers. A spokesman for Guess Inc., the biggest manufacturer of clothing in Southern California, said two of the home workers are employed by contractors that do some work for the company. However, he and state investigators said that none of the seized goods carried Guess labels or could otherwise be tied to Guess. The spokesman for Guess said the company is awaiting further word from state officials before deciding whether to take action against any of its contractors. Several Guess contractors were linked to illegal home work in a similar raid last year.