Car wash shortchanged California workers on overtime and tried to cover it up, feds say
A California car wash, gas station and mini-market didn’t pay its workers overtime and tried to cover it up, federal officials said.
Now Rancho Carwash, operated by MG Petroleum Inc., in Rancho Cucamonga must pay $202,192 in back wages and damages, the U.S. Department of Labor said in an Oct. 24 news release.
The company didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
An investigation found the company shortchanged workers on overtime payments by giving workers two paychecks, the release says.
One paycheck included compensation for a worker’s 40 hours and a second paycheck was given for overtime, but the hours were still “straight-time rates” without overtime pay added, the release says.
Additionally, the company is accused of requiring employees to take lunch “as customer demand dictated,” which “left employees unable to take uninterrupted one-hour lunch breaks,” according to the release.
Even so, the company “deducted an average of 4 hours per week for lunch breaks,” the release states, which violates the Fair Labor Standards Act.
MG Petroleum Inc. owes $101,096 in back wages and $101,096 in liquidated damages, the release states.
“As employers continue to struggle to find the people they need to operate their businesses, those who respect workers’ rights to be paid their full wages and avoid violations are more likely to succeed in retaining and recruiting employees,” Wage and Hour Division assistant district director Gayane Aleksanian said in the release.
Rancho Cucamonga is about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Car wash shortchanged California workers on overtime and tried to cover it up, feds say."
