Investigators with the New York attorney general's office are looking into the practice of employers locking in late-shift workers such as janitors. Many stores do this in order to prevent workers from stealing merchandise. This practice is illegal and potentially very dangerous in the case of a fire. Complaints were gathered by The Fifth Avenue Committee, a community group in Brooklyn that helps immigrants.
See "Workers Say Late Shifts Often Mean Locked Exits", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, June 17, 2004