Employer Hit with $800,000 “Wage Theft” Citation

The California Labor Commissioner has again looked under the hood of the car wash industry, citing Torrance Car Wash more than $800,000 for wage theft violations affecting 35 workers, including minimum wage, overtime and meal and rest breaks.

Investigators found the employer failed to pay workers for all hours worked, required on-time workers to wait before punching in, and did not provide required meal and rest breaks.

In an April 27, 2022 release, the Commissioner stated: “The business owners violated labor laws to avoid paying workers the wages they were owed and refused to cooperate with our investigation by withholding documents during our inspection.  My office had to get additional warrants to conduct our inspection of the business.”

The Commissioner’s office was prompted to investigate after receiving a referral from the CLEAN Car Wash Campaign, a pro-union coalition that supports car wash workers.

Take-Away: Citations of this magnitude can destroy a business.  Employers must ensure continuing compliance with California’s wage laws.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Cautionary Tale Episode 55 – Chickens Roosted – Foster Farms Cited $3.7M for Paid Pandemic Sick Leave Violations (May 5, 2022)
• Cautionary Tale Episode 44 Fined Dining – Restaurant Must Eat $1.6M Bill for Labor Violations (August 26, 2021)
• Cautionary Tale Episode 26 – Playa Vista Car Wash Takes a Dunking for $2.36 Million “Wage Theft” (May 2, 2019)

Cindy Bamforth
May 18, 2022