Two Southern California and Bay Area towing companies have been cited for wage theft violations of employee meal, overtime, and rest period requirements, according to the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.
The two towing companies are being hit with a $4.8 million citation for the alleged wage theft violations.
The California Labor Commissioner’s Office is part of the Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The two companies being hit with the citation are Auto Towing Inc., doing business as Pride Towing and Recovery in Anaheim, CA., and Yaco Investments Inc., doing business as Stride Towing and Recovery on Oakland.
The wage theft violations penalty totals $4,874,661 for purported violations of California employment laws that have affected dispatchers, drivers, and mechanics for the two towing companies.
According to Law360, employees for the towing companies alleged that they would work a non-stop 12-hour shift without any meal or rest breaks. Additionally, some of these employees would also have to work a non-stop seven days a week schedule, the Commissioner’s office maintained.
The labor commissioner said to Law360, “This is an egregious case of wage theft affecting a large group of workers who were denied a just day’s pay and forced to work without meal or rest breaks.” She continued, “My office enforces California’s labor laws to prevent employers from cheating workers as a means to gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors.”
According to Law360, a total of 187 workers at both companies were affected by the alleged wage theft violations — 129 at Pride and 58 at Stride.
Penalties for the alleged wage theft violations include liquidated damages, itemized wage statement violations, and waiting time penalties. The Office has also said that when an employee is paid less than minimum wage, the amount of liquidated damages ascertained is equal to the amount of underpaid wages, including an interest amount.
The two companies have appealed the citations.
The announcement further reported that employees working at Stride were not paid for all the overtime hours that they had worked. Additionally, employees working at Pride were typically paid $110 each day. Once the employees’ unusually long work hours are factored in, the amount they were paid is less than the wage requirement maintained by federal and state law, and thus, they were underpaid their regular wage pay.
According to Law360, drivers and mechanics working for the company were also illegally charged deductions for expenses like accidents or damage that occurred while they were working out on the field, and they were required to pay for their uniforms.
The investigation launched by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office came after a former employee of Pride filed a wage claim alleging violations of California labor law. The citations and wage theft violations then came as a result of the purported investigation.
Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation
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.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2026 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
Suing for unpaid wages in California: Recover unpaid overtime, back pay and more
April 2, 2026 | Legal News
2 thoughts onTwo Calif. Towing Companies Penalized $4.8M for Wage Theft Violations
The initial filling of the report with the department of labor was my doing. These were the worst working conditions I ever could have ever imagined, and working 6-7 hour days in the office, cleaning up after 4-5 men, pigs really. I kept track of every single day’s worth of work, each personal check paid to me days late, and monies shorted- every single timecard submitted was photocopied, and each instance of insurance fraud noted, along side of date and time filled. To date, I’ve recieved a little over $2k of a $20k estimated recovery amount almost 3 years later.
The companies are still in business, operating under names Modestow, Stride, Pride and Irvine Auto Towing. Their drivers operate in unmarked and unlicensed tow trucks in the OC area, Dodge heavy duty flat beds, and Hinos.
They’ve been operating under different family member’s
names, 4 sons Aivan, Andi, Aram (MIKE), and Alan also and wife Shunda (or something similar/ sandy for short)- under their patriarch Noel, as of now they’re employing undocumented immigrants of their family, cousins, nephews, family friends from Iraq currently- NOT PAYING TAXES, they’ve purchased 2 homes in Orange county with Cash, and still have not paid out owed workers wages.
Truely living out the American Dream- The investigators/collections team in Orange county “working on it” should be ashamed of themselves, with all of the above true info submitted to them, the properties and assets of these criminals should have been liquidated by now.
I can totally relate it’s been like 7-8 yrs now and I’ve only received about 1k. of the 8k This so called company has done the worse thing they can do to hard working ppl . For their own selfish needs they should be liquidated fully and pay what’s owed …
(I feel the frustrations LC )
(These ppl have no morals for anyone other than their own family and country)