Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
Torrance Car Wash Is Fined More Than $800,000 For Wage Theft
Torrance Car Wash, not pictured, must pay a more than $800,000 fine after an investigation found the business had stolen employees wages.
(
Camilo Jimenez
/
Unsplash
)
Torrance Car Wash engaged in wage theft violations affecting 35 workers, according the findings of a California Labor Commissioners investigation. Now the company is being fined $815,311.
The investigation concluded some employees were only paid for about 80 hours in a pay period even though they had worked beyond that. Others were forced to wait before clocking in and were never compensated for their waiting time, they had been called to work.
Flor Rodriguez, executive director of the Clean Car Wash Worker Center, said her organization does regular outreach to car wash workers about their rights.
"That's how we were able to get workers who came and talked to us about the conditions at Torrance Car Wash," Rodriguez said. "Workers shared that there [were] large levels of wage theft, that often times, the workers were not being paid for all the hours that they worked."
L.A. County is home to more than 10,000 car wash workers, according to Rodriguez. Her organization has about 1,500 members, and she said almost every one of them has experienced some form of wage theft.
"It's something that's very common in the industry, for workers to get asked to show up at the car wash at a certain time to wait, and then as the car wash gets busy throughout the day, then more workers are pulled in to work," she said.
Sponsored message
Rodriguez said the practice is so common, some workers do not realize they should be paid during the times they are waiting and not actively working on cars.
Now, Rodriguez said she hopes the findings of the investigation will empower other workers to come out of the shadows to stop wage theft in the car wash industry.
“We really hope that this [sends] a strong message…to other car wash workers, but also to car wash owners, right? Car wash owners who continue to have really bad practices,” she said.
LAist reached out to Torrance Car Wash for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
