Wage Law

Yesterday, the California Labor Commissioner announced another settlement, this time for $450,000, for unpaid wage claims brought on behalf of carwash workers.

Sixty workers at a Redondo Beach carwash will receive $450,000 in unpaid wages, thanks to a settlement reached in a lawsuit against the carwash by the California Labor Commissioner on the workers' behalf. The Bruno Scherrer Corporation dba Hollywood Riviera shorted their employees' earned wages and intentionally failed to record employee total work hours. This deceptive practice resulted in payment of sub-minimum wage to the carwash employees.

The settlement arose from an investigation that began in October 2006, leading to a lawsuit filed by the Labor Commissioner in September 2007 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Hollywood Riviera carwash had been paying employees minimum wage for as little as 3 to 4 hours of work then requiring them to finish out the day with no further wages, being paid in tips only. As a result of the settlement, each affected worker will receive an average of $7,500.