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More than 380 workers at iconic New Bedford menswear company Joseph Abboud Manufacturing Corporation are receiving restitution after an investigation by the state’s Attorney General’s Office found multiple violations of state employment laws. 

The AG’s office alleges that between March and July of 2023, the company failed to make timely payments and issue appropriate pay stubs to approximately 384 workers, according to a Wednesday press release. The company was fined $218,300, which includes both penalties and restitution for the affected workers. Joseph Abboud President John Tighe and Senior Vice President Joe Bahena were also cited for the violations. 

In its press release, the AG’s office said it began investigating the company after receiving a complaint from Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores (CCT), an organization that advocates for the many immigrant workers in New Bedford. 

The AG’s office said it began investigating Joseph Abboud after receiving a complaint from Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores. Credit: Will Sennott / The New Bedford Light

“The workers are pleased to finally be paid fairly,” said Adrian Ventura, director of CCT. “But we should not be pleased. The company was violating the law. They should have always been paid fairly.” 

Ventura said the workers, most of whom are Guatemalan, were paid by a system called “piecework,” in which they are paid by the number of pieces they produce. He said the company told the workers one rate but was paying them a slightly lower rate. Over many hours, the difference in rates added up to a large amount, he said, though he was unclear on the specific rates. 

Last year, the Labor Department’s Boston and Providence field offices formalized an alliance with CCT in order to address workplace safety issues in the industrial businesses in New Bedford and to educate workers of their labor rights. Since then, the Labor Department has found a series of labor violations, including illegal child labor at multiple seafood processing plants and construction companies. 

The AG’s office also wrote that Joseph Abboud failed to provide certain requested information and documentation to its office, including payroll records. 

Joseph Abboud did not return requests to comment. Unite Here Local 377, which represents manufacturing workers in New England, including garment workers at Joseph Abboud, also did not return calls. It is unclear the role the union played in the investigation.

Joseph Abboud has a storied history in New Bedford. It is one of the last remaining textile operations in a city that was once known for producing quality clothing in its many brick factories. Most of the industry moved out of New Bedford in the late 20th century, first heading south then moving to China due to cheaper labor. But Abboud pushed back against that trend, setting up its manufacturing operations in New Bedford in 1987. 

The company prides itself on its product, which it says is all made in the United States. Today, its garment workers produce over 1,000 suits a day, according to the union’s website. The company describes itself as the largest tailored clothing manufacturer in the country. The company has been sold multiple times in recent years. In 2013, it was acquired by Men’s Wearhouse (now Tailored Brands) and in 2020 WHP Global acquired the brand’s trademarks.

Email reporter Will Sennott at wsennott@newbedfordlight.org.