CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 60“LIENING” ON EMPLOYERS « Law Offices of Timothy Bowles | Top Employment Law Firm in Los Angeles

CAUTIONARY TALE EPISODE 60
“LIENING” ON EMPLOYERS

Labor Commissioner Recovers $282,000 for Car Wash Workers

The car wash industry is a frequent target of the Labor Commissioner. A 2017 enforcement action against Classic Castle Car Wash, Inc. (Classic Castle), owner of two car washes in Long Beach, ultimately resulted in a judgment of $282,000 for unpaid overtime, minimum wage, reporting time, liquidated damages and waiting time penalties in 2020.

Classic Castle paid more than a fifth of the assessed amount between 2017 and 2020, but then paid no more.

Unfortunately for Classic Castle, Labor Code 90.8 went into effect on January 1, 2022. This law permitted the Labor Commissioner to file a lien on real property owned by employers for amounts they owe under citations, findings, or decisions.

Following entry of a judgment in 2021, Classic Castle employees informed the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, which passed on to the Labor Commissioner, that Classic Castle was selling its business. The Labor Commissioner then filed a lien against Classic Castle’s real property, resulting in payment of the remaining fines a month later.

Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower stated: “The new lien authority provides a practical tool to recover owed wages. It has simplified and expedited the process to get into the pockets of workers and their families the money that is rightfully theirs. These courageous workers reported the wage theft and kept us informed of actions by the car wash owners, which ensured we could ultimately hold the employer accountable and ensure they received their stolen wages.”

For further assistance, please contact one of our attorneys Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

TAKE-AWAYS: Employers must pay their employees correctly. They need to pay minimum wage and overtime and not have employees waiting around for work without paying them for their time.

See also:
Cautionary Tale Episode 57 Car Wash Dusted – Employer Hit with $800,000 “Wage Theft” Citation (May 18, 2022)
Cautionary Tale Episode 36 Is Gig Up for Car Wash Company? First AB 5 Suit Challenging Independent Contractor Classification (July 31, 2020)
Cautionary Tales Episode 26 – Playa Vista Car Wash Takes a Dunking for $2.36 Million “Wage Theft” (May 2, 2019)

 

Helena Kobrin
October 28, 2022

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