China’s new labor law is translating into higher costs, not just for mainland employers but also for products destined for the US marketplace. From the Washington Post:

Wei Hoqiang used to work in a toy factory that forced him to sign a contract it did not let him read. It paid him 30 cents an hour, made him work 100 days without a day off, and kept him in a room that was ice cold in winter and suffocating in summer. He said he knew he was being taken advantage of, but he was so afraid of his boss’s ire that he stayed for two years.

Wei, 31, said he knew he could do better and in early March walked out on his employer. He immediately got three job offers.

Armed with a landmark new labor contract law that went into effect Jan. 1, employees like Wei are turning the tables on employers in China.