AG Brown files $6M lawsuit against car wash owners

Attorney General Jerry Brown today filed a $6.6 million lawsuit against the owners of eight car washes for an alleged "widespread pattern of worker exploitation," unpaid wages and illegal business practices.

Brown's lawsuit caps a five-month investigation of eight car washes in Fair Oaks, Folsom, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Santa Monica, San Ramon and Venice owned by the Sikder family, which owns the popular Koi restaurant.

"While Koi served up yellowtail tartare and Kobe beef carpaccio to Hollywood celebrities, the restaurant's owners routinely denied wages, breaks and overtime pay to workers at their unlicensed car washes," Brown said. "Today's lawsuit seeks to end this widespread pattern of worker exploitation."

Workers told investigators the car washes routinely denied minimum wage and overtime, withheld wages owed to those who quit or were terminated, denied rest and meal breaks, and falsified workers' records, the Attorney General's office said.

Investigators said employees were told to report to work and wait, unpaid, until business picked up. Workers' paychecks often could not be cashed because of insufficient company funds. And, for years the car washes operated without licenses from the Labor Commissioner.

Brown's lawsuit seeks $6.6 million in lost wages and civil penalties, and an injunction preventing the defendants from committing similar violations in the future.

The car washes also owe more than $1.8 million, according to recorded liens, authorities said.

The eight car washes named in today's lawsuit are:

• Bonus Car Wash located at 2800 Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica
  
• Crown Valley Car Wash located at 25991 Crown Valley Parkway in Laguna Niguel
  
• Gold Rush Auto Spa located at 7620 Folsom-Auburn Blvd. in Folsom
  
• Gold Rush Auto Spa II located at 4350 Sunrise Blvd. in Fair Oaks
  
• Laguna Hills Union 76 Station [Car Wash] located at 24795 Alicia Parkway in Laguna Hills
  
• Marina Car Wash located at 2305 Lincoln Blvd. in Venice
  
• Sponges Car Wash located at 2061 Camino Ramon in San Ramon
  
• Wash & Go Hand Wash (also known as Wash & Go Hand Carwash Corp and Irvine Auto Spa) located at 3080 Main St. in Irvine.

California's 1,500 car washes employ a total of 28,000 workers per month, according to recent California Employment Development Department figures. One third of these car washes are unlicensed, according to a 2008 report by the state Labor Commissioner, and have not posted a bond to ensure payment of wages, as required by law.

KPCC's Brian Watt contributed audio to this report.