WEST COVINA, Calif. — The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Sparkling Clean Car Wash Inc. to pay 15 workers over $62,000 in back wages and liquidated damages after investigators discovered that the employer intentionally failed to pay them overtime.
Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division learned that Sparkling Clean only paid straight-time rates when workers worked over the 40-hour work week, regardless of the amount of overtime.
They also found the carwash failed to pay one worker up to $393 in minimum wages.
The division fined Sparkling Clean $8,715 in penalties for its willful violation of the law.
The division also cited that the employer failed to maintain complete payroll records, earning another Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violation.
“Carwash industry workers are often low-wage earners, and when employers fail to pay these workers for all the hours they work as required by the law, it can be difficult for the workers to attend to their basic needs,” said Wage and Hour Division Assistant District Director Rafael Valles in West Covina, California. “The deliberate nature of this employer’s violations are unacceptable, and they have been held maximally accountable for shortchanging their workers.”
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