A class action lawsuit has been filed against a Thousand Oaks car wash for allegedly operating in violation of California labor laws. The suit claims the owners of Thousand Oaks Hand Wash hired undocumented workers and subjected them to slavery-like conditions, including forcing them to work for free for the first month and denying them overtime pay.
The complaint was filed in Ventura County Superior Court, Simi Valley Division and claims that after one month of free work employees would then begin earning money at $5.00 per hour - well below both the current California minimum wage of $7.50. The suit also alleges Hand Wash required employees to report to work at 8:00 AM but they did not get paid until the first cars came in later in the morning. The class action claims workers were forced to regularly work more than 10 hours per day, often times seven days per week, with no rest or lunch breaks or overtime pay.
It is alleged that, if any of the employees complained, they were told that they would be deported. "We have not alleged any retaliation causes of action," says lawyer Mike Strauss.
Naturally, the car wash employees are scared to come forward. "At any given time there are 40-70 employees and this complaint goes back four years," adds Strauss, "and it wouldn't surprise me that the number of people in the class could exceed 500.
"During the first few months of their employment, these people were not even paid minimum wage and for the first month they worked for free."
Allegedly, employees are paid half cash and half paycheckâ"generally, if you pay someone in cash, you can avoid being taxed.
Sadly, Thousand Oaks Hand Wash employees may not even be aware of the California labor code regarding overtime; they do not know that this company is in violation of many labor laws. "Some of them were shocked to hear they were entitled to a 30-minute, off-duty lunch break and that if you work through lunch, you are owned one extra hour of pay," says Strauss. "They are also unaware of the fact that their employer must give them two, 10- minute breaks each day, and your 10-minute break is not supposed to include trips to the washroom."
The law states employees are entitled to one (1) 10 minute break for every 4 hours worked. Strauss is hopeful that more employees will become aware of the labor law and come forward, and not be deported.
