California Car Washes To Pay Over $1 Million In Wage Theft Settlement

Two car wash businesses have agreed to pay over $1 million in a wage theft settlement to resolve claims that they didn’t pay their employees minimum wage.

Silver Lake Car Wash, Catalina Car Wash, and business supervisor Yoosef Aminpour in Los Angeles have agreed to pay $1,084,972 in restitution as part of a wage theft settlement.

The defendants will also pay over $519,000 in civil penalties and almost $36,000 in litigation costs. The wage theft settlement also places the car wash companies under a four-year injunction requiring them to comply with all applicable employment laws and regulations covering wages and hourly pay.

The wage theft settlement will resolve claims that the car wash businesses failed to pay Los Angeles minimum wage to their employees. Minimum wage across the country is $7.25 per hour, but many states like California have higher requirements for minimum wage.

Due to the high cost of living, Los Angeles minimum wage is $13.25 per hour for companies with over 26 employees and $12.00 per hour for smaller companies. The car washes allegedly paid their employees significantly less than Los Angeles minimum wage and committed several employment law violations.

The car wash companies allegedly underreported the hours of employees, paying them wages as low as $45 for over 10 hour days with no overtime or breaks. Plaintiffs claimed the company also failed to provide employees with the gloves and boots necessary to do their job. The alleged wage violations affected around 60 employees. The wage theft settlement will award affected employees between $17,000 and $40,000 in back pay.

Unfortunately, car washes in California may make a habit of underpaying their employees. In July, a car wash business owner faced allegations that he underpaid hundreds of employees. These claims resulted in another wage theft settlement which paid employees $4.2 million in back wages and penalties.

California has unique labor laws which provide strict guidelines for the treatment and payment of employees in the state. Should employers be found to be in violation of California labor laws, they may have to pay millions of dollars in back pay, damages, and penalties.

Wage and hour lawsuits in California often concern a variety of behaviors including:

• Failing to pay all overtime wages;
• Fraudulently rounding time resulting in accurate wages and wage statements;
• Failing to calculate the regular rate of pay properly, for purposes of paying overtime;
• Failing to pay at least minimum wages for all hours worked including off the clock pay;
• Failing to provide employees with timely, uninterrupted meal and/or rest breaks;
• Failing to pay employees one hour of pay for each missed meal or rest break;
• Failing to pay wages in a timely fashion during employment and upon termination;
• Failing to pay the costs of mandatory pre-employment physical examinations;
• Failing to reimburse work-related business expenses; and
• Failing to provide written notice of material terms of employment.

Any of these violations may be in violation of California labor laws, entitling employees to take legal action. Some employers choose to settle such lawsuits, which can result in lucrative wage theft settlement payments.

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If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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