Lawsuit Alleges Statewide Scheme of Misclassification and Wage Abuses
LOS ANGELES— Janitors, leaders from the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (MCTF), and supporters held a press conference to announce the filing of a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The claims in the lawsuit allege that supermarket chain WinCo Foods and their janitorial contractor Tec Services systematically and willfully misclassified the store’s janitors as independent contractors. As a result, the employers failed to comply with California wage and hour laws which apply to the employees, such as minimum wage and overtime, meal and lunch breaks and sick leave.
Abigail Hernandez, one of the janitors who cleaned WinCo Foods supermarket in Apple Valley, worked for seven months under Tec Services and Dulce Cleaning, where she experienced wage theft and workplace abuse.
“I didn’t get any pay during my first month of work and even had to cover my own transportation and gas costs. Every week I would bring it up to my supervisors and WinCo but they wouldn’t any responsibility to solve it,” said Hernandez. “As workers we deserve to have a resolution. We have rights and we will have our day in court.”
Recently, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office cited Winco Foods and Tec Services and Tec Services subcontractors in Sacramento for a total of over $1 million dollars for many of the same violations of California wage and hour laws, as well as for the use of unregistered janitorial companies.
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About the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund: The MCTF is a California statewide watchdog organization whose mission is to abolish illegal and unfair business practices in the janitorial industry. The MCTF investigates allegations of employment law violations and partners with local, state, and federal enforcement agencies to hold unscrupulous contractors accountable.