NYC compliance notice puts new scrutiny on Victoria’s Secret over Sri Lankan supplier worker death

Victoria’s Secret is facing scrutiny once more in regard to its supply-chain practices after New York City’s Commission on Human Rights issued a compliance notice concerning a local casting call for its upcoming “Angels Among Us” campaign.

Katherine Carroll, deputy commissioner of the commission’s Office of Civil Rights Enforcement, sent a letter on August 20 to Victoria’s Secret general counsel Melinda McAfee, the Sourcing Journal Reports.

The notice reminded the brand that applicants, independent contractors and short-term workers in New York City are protected under the city's human-rights law, including against discrimination based on immigration status and gender, as well as sexual harassment, adding that any violations can carry civil penalties of up to 250,000 US dollars in cases of willful or malicious conduct.

Although the compliance notice centers on hiring in New York, and not conditions for workers overseas, the New York Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice. Julie Su connected the action to the death of garment worker Paramasivam Pushpalatha last year at a Brandix factory in Sri Lanka that produces for Victoria’s Secret.

Pushpalatha passed away in October 2025 after becoming ill during her shift. Labor groups including Asia Floor Wage Alliance and Global Labor Justice allege that she was denied permission to leave work for medical attention and was required to continue working and finish her shift before going to hospital, where she later died.

Paramasivam’s death has since become the focus of an international campaign calling on Victoria’s Secret and Brandix to provide financial remediation to Pushpalatha’s family, with the labor groups commissioning an independent investigation and entering into agreements addressing gender-based violence, harassment and retaliation in the supply chain. The groups have also alleged ongoing intimidation of workers and organizers following her death.

A Victoria’s Secret spokesperson told Sourcing Journal that the brand takes its “human-rights responsibilities seriously and will continue to comply with applicable laws.” The spokesperson noted that it collaborated directly with Brandix to establish the circumstances of Paramasivam’s death and conducted its own assessment of the information available, noting it found no indication of wrongdoing by the supplier, while awaiting the findings of a separate investigation by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.

The controversy surrounding Paramasivam’s death brings a wash of new pressure for Victoria’s Secret as it prepares to host its Fashion Show in Los Angeles on October 18. The brand’s new “Angels Among Us” docuseries, which follows aspiring models through its latest casting process, premieres Sept. 27.

It also sits uneasily alongside the company’s own supply-chain commitments. Victoria’s Secret describes Brandix as a partner of more than 25 years and highlights the supplier’s worker and community initiatives on its corporate website.

Its latest modern-slavery statement says the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy and is expanding worker grievance mechanisms, human-rights due diligence and supplier oversight. In 2026, it formally joined the Better Work programme as a buyer partner.