Trader Joe’s Contractor Fined for Allegedly Withholding Underpaid Wages

A contractor working with Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe’s now must pay out $1.6 million in fines in part to recover underpaid wages. The companies were accused of participating in wage theft.

According to the Orange County Register, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office announced that the contractor, Inventory Professionals, was responsible for back pay for 64 workers.

According to those underpaid wages claims, employees did not get overtime, minimum wage, and other compensation required under California law.

California has laws on the books imposing liability on a company for workplace violations committed by the company’s contractor.

This means that Inventory Professionals’ liability issues are shared with Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe’s as a result of their partnership. In other words, if the contractor does not pay the fines as assessed by the state, the fines must be paid by the other two companies.

The state labor commissioner stated that every entity that uses contractors wherein there’s a scheme of wage theft should be prepared to face liability.

According to the underpaid wages claims, 64 different workers who counted merchandise one aisle at a time inside Trader Joe’s and Grocery Outlet from August 2015 to August 2018 are due backpay.

All of the companies say that they intend to appeal the decision. The wage violations were not the only claims made by the state, however. The companies were also accused of violating child labor laws due to at least two employees, aged 14 and 17, working on the aisle counting jobs as late as 2 a.m.

The underpaid wages allegations stated that the workers who did these tasks logged up to 65 hours per week but never received overtime payments from the employer. According to the investigation, those same workers did not receive minimum wage for the work they did.

As part of the ruling, the workers will also receive compensation for the interest that accrued during the time they did not receive payments they were owed. Additional penalties are also assessed due to some cases where workers did not get their final payments after their working relationship with the company ended.

California has some of the strictest laws on the books for employers; it’s also home to many different legal claims of wage theft in recent years. According to one 2018 report, over 500 big companies throughout the U.S. have had to pay fines due to underpaid wages claims in violation of the law since 2000.

Over half of those claims, which involved payments of $8.8 billion, came from California. If you or someone you know in California has been subjected to unpaid wages due to a scheme carried out by an employer, this could lead to a lawsuit and possible recovery of payments.

Employees have the right to take legal action or to alert authorities when their employer is violating state or federal laws affecting workers. If this has already happened to you, consider speaking with a dedicated lawyer immediately to learn more about your rights.

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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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