More than 60 janitors at Cheesecake Factory locations across Orange and San Diego counties will receive $1 million in back wages.
The California Labor Commissioner alongside the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a state watchdog for the janitorial industry, made the announcement at a news conference in San Diego on Tuesday.
An investigation revealed that eight Cheesecake Factory locations used contractors and subcontractors to hire janitors who regularly worked beyond their eight-hour shifts. However, the workers did not get law-mandated meal breaks or overtime pay from between 2014 and 2017.
The Cheesecake Factory locations include:
• Brea Mall Way, Brea
• Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine
• Edinger Avenue, Huntington Beach
• Friars Road, San Diego
• Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach
• The Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo
• Via Rancho Parkway, Escondido
• Harbor Drive, San Diego
The Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund's executive director, Yardenna Aaron, called the settlement historic. She said it's the first time Assembly Bill 1897 — a 2015 law that allows state regulators to go after employers who use contractors for labor — has been used.
"It demonstrates the enormous power of California's up the chain liability to create equity, and multi-stakeholder responsibility for irresponsible contracting in our state," Aaron said.
The Cheesecake Factory did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower said the state has powerful laws, but they only work when employees are able to stand up and report workplace violations.
Naxhili Perez, a former janitor at a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in San Diego, said workers weren't allowed to leave until a kitchen manager reviewed their work. Perez also said she would be required to work overtime if managers found anything wrong. But she never got paid for the extra time worked.
"We knew back then that our employer Magic Touch cleaning was taking advantage of us. We knew that Cheesecake Factory was ignoring this misconduct," she said. "It took a lot of courage to speak up and share our stories with organizations like the MCTM and government authorities, like the labor commissioner."
Yadira Santos worked at one of the Cheesecake Factory locations in 2016. She said her shift started at midnight and would work until morning without meal and rest breaks.
"At that time, I had twins and two other small children," she said. "The wage theft that I experienced stole my money and time for my children."
An additional 500 former workers have yet to be identified. The state is urging people who worked as a janitor at the Cheesecake Factory between Aug. 31 2014 and Aug. 31 2017 to call (619) 213-5260.
