Tod’s Faces Italian Prosecutors’ Scrutiny Over Alleged Labor Rights Violations

New open case among Italian luxury. Italian footwear group Tod’s is at the center of the latest accusation by the Italian judiciary of infringing the labor rights of workers in its supply chain. The country’s prosecutors have requested that the company be placed under receivership (a legal measure that allows the appointment of an external administrator to temporarily manage or supervise the activity of a company) alleging labor exploitation in its value chain.

The news of the investigation being carried out by the country’s judiciary has been brought to light by Il Corriere della Sera, after the Supreme Court has placed the company under receivership for alleged labor exploitation in its value chain. Supreme Court has set a date for the hearing between Tod’s and the Milan prosecutor’s office (as later reported by Reuters), which will be held on November 19th.

“We reiterate that from Tod’s we comply with all current legislation, including that related to labor rights, and that we carry out constant monitoring in the factories we work with,“ the group explained in statements to the news agency. Tod’s has confirmed that it has received the notification with the date of the hearing, which will be held next month, although it assures that it does not know more details of the investigation.

Tod’s is the latest of several similar accusations in the Italian luxury sector

Prosecutors claim that the footwear group breached its responsibility to monitor the conditions of its suppliers, although they have put the focus of the investigation on the network of companies in the value chain. The Supreme Court’s intervention in the case comes after the Milan court ruled that jurisdiction in the case rested with the Marche region, where the group is headquartered.

According to court documents accessed by Reuters, the suppliers named in the case are located in both Milan and the Marche region of central Italy. At the November appointment, the supreme court will determine precisely which territory the body has jurisdiction over.

In both cases, investigations have revealed that Tod’s contracted with two companies that, in turn, subcontracted production to other companies that employed workers on minuscule wages of just under three euros per hour.

Along with Tod’s, the last similar case involved Armani in August, which was fined €3.5 million for outsourcing part of its production to subcontractors without adequate controls. Along with the Italian fashion group, also accumulate similar complaints Valentino, which finally went into receivership, Dior or Loro Piana.