BADM532 1
BADM 532 – Organizational Behavior
University of Cumberlands
Week 1 – Discussion Paper
Sweatshops
BADM532 2
Sweatshops are work environments that have poor and socially unacceptable working conditions.
There is no single definition of what a sweatshop is. The US Department of Labor defines a
sweatshop as a factory that violates two or more labor laws such as those pertaining to wages and
benefits, child labor or working hours. Sweatshops exist wherever there is an opportunity to
exploit workers who lack the knowledge and resources to stand up for themselves.
History of Sweatshops
Sweatshops possess three major characteristics – long hours, low pay, and unsafe or unhealthy
working conditions. They implement policies that restrict workers’ freedoms. One of the earliest
examples of sweatshop was in the crude textile mills of Ecuador. Spanish conquerors put the
native population to work in sweatshop conditions in the manufacture of cloth, rough garments,
