Style Avenue, El Salvador

On December 15, 2016, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) received a Third Party Complaint from the Federación Sindical de El Salvador (FESS) alleging violations of labor standards and of the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct at the factory Style Avenue, located in San Salvador, El Salvador. FLA member Outerstuff and affiliate College Kids were sourcing from the factory at the time of the complaint and conducted an assessment using an independent monitoring organization that is frequently used by FLA brands active in El Salvador.   The independent monitor visited the Style Avenue facilities on January 17, 2017, to:

• interview management representatives,
• review human resources and payroll records,
• walk through the facility,
• meet with union officials, and
• interview both unionized and non-unionized workers.

The assessor was able to corroborate some, but not all, aspects of the original complaint, and also reported new findings related to minimum wages, social security payments, and time-keeping systems.  Style Avenue, working with Outerstuff and College Kids, has developed a remediation plan to address the findings identified by the assessor and many of the remedial actions have been implemented and the remediation completed.  The FLA encourages Outerstuff and College Kids to continue working collaboratively with Style Avenue management to improve worker rights and working conditions at the factory, monitor implementation of the remediation items that are still in progress, and report periodically to the FLA on their efforts to ensure that corrective actions in progress are followed through until completed.