When a Vons cleaning contractor vanished last year without paying dozens of immigrant janitors, a watchdog group funded by other cleaning contractors stepped forward and helped the janitors file claims with the California Labor Commission. Vons ended up paying the workers, including several from San Diego, nearly $115,000 that it withheld from the contractor’s final …
Watchdog group helps keep janitorial contractors clean Read More »
Don’t be fooled by the colorfully framed family photos on Lilia Garcia’s bookshelves, or the volume of Maya Angelou’s poetry, or the collection of coffee mugs with cheery sayings. Garcia is no mushy, stuffed-animal-loving softie. Her tiny, windowless office is the command center for a long-running battle against outlaw cleaning companies that prey on low-wage …
The United States Department of Labor announced yesterday that it had reached a $1.9 million settlement with a contractor for the Target Corporation after finding that the contractor had not paid overtime to hundreds of immigrant janitors who often worked seven nights a week cleaning Target stores. Several janitors said in interviews that the Target …
The Cheesecake Factory and a janitorial contractor have been found liable in a $4.57 million wage theft case involving hundreds of underpaid janitorial workers at eight California locations, the state’s Department of Industrial Relations said on Monday, sending a strong message to businesses that they are accountable for workplace violations — even if their workers …
Cheesecake Factory Is Found Partly Liable in $4.6 Million Janitor Wage Theft Case Read More »
In a case that could prove to be a model for holding businesses responsible for abuses by their contractors, the Cheesecake Factory Restaurants Inc. chain has been found jointly liable with a janitorial services firm for wage theft violations totaling $4.2 million, the California Department of Industrial Relations said Monday. California Labor Commissioner Julie Su …
Every night, after the last show ended at the AMC theater in Santa Monica, Maria Alvarez arrived at work. She and her husband had a key to let themselves in. It was after midnight, and the building was empty. Together, they cleaned all seven auditoriums. They vacuumed the carpets and mopped the floors. They cleaned …
How America’s Biggest Theater Chains Are Exploiting Their Janitors Read More »
Lilia Garcia-Brower, 45, is executive director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund. The Los Angeles- based organization investigates wage theft and other abuses in the janitorial industry, which is notorious for paying workers below minimum wage. The organization, funded by unionized janitorial companies, partners with government enforcement agencies or organizes private lawsuits to bring cases. …
