Wage Law

Since the passage of AB 1688 in 2003, California has required registration for all carwash and polishing businesses (the Carwash Worker Law, Labor Code §§ 2050-2067). The law is intended to protect employees in the car washing and polishing industry from under-the-table cash payrolls, child labor violations and a lack of workers’ compensation insurance. There were 845 licensed carwashes as of November 2008. California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet recently filed an action in San Diego County Superior Court to shut down a San Diego carwash for failing to register with the Labor Commissioner’s Office as required under California Labor Code § 2050. In February 2007 and March 2008, Choufa Holdings, Inc. dba Action Car Wash was found operating and employing workers without properly registering with the Labor Commissioner’s Office. Penalties were levied and a judgment, still unsatisfied, was entered.

A similar lawsuit was filed in March 2008 against Scrub Boys, a Sacramento carwash. As a result of that lawsuit, Scrub Boys registered and paid $10,000 in fines.