LOS ANGELES - Today, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced that she has filed a civil enforcement action on behalf of the People of the State of California against two janitorial contracting companies, their owners and operators, and two of their supermarket clients to stop alleged systemic wage theft and other labor violations against janitors. The alleged violations include failing to pay the required minimum wage and overtime, failing to provide meal breaks and paid sick leave, committing record-keeping violations, and numerous other alleged illegal labor practices. Feldstein Soto’s lawsuit seeks to stop the defendants’ unlawful and unfair labor practices, impose statutory penalties, and provide damages and restitution for at least 65 victimized workers.
“This case is about janitorial contractors and grocery corporations exploiting janitors and stealing their hard-earned money in a number of different ways, which is not only unethical, it’s illegal,” said Hydee Feldstein Soto, Los Angeles City Attorney. “Every janitor and every worker deserves dignity, respect and, most of all, the wages they’ve worked hard to earn and the benefits they’re entitled to under state, county and city laws. I will always stand up to protect workers’ rights.”
The Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (“MCTF”), a statewide organization that works to eliminate illegal and unfair business practices in California’s janitorial industry, worked with Feldstein Soto’s team in this matter.
"It’s hard working janitors - often women and mothers providing for their families - who directly experience the highly stressful effects of wage theft. Every time law-breaking contracting companies commit wage theft, deny proper rest breaks, or force employees to sign releases and jump through administrative hoops just to get paid what they are owed, this hurts workers' financial freedom and undercuts responsible contractors in the industry,” said Yardenna Aaron, Executive Director of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund. “With the help of the city and fair work stakeholders we can protect workers and reclaim a fair playing field for above-board cleaning companies.”
According to the complaint, wage theft is rampant in janitorial contracting, an arrangement in which a contractor hires and employs janitorial workers and enters into agreements with property owners or tenants to provide janitorial services. In this matter, Modern Floor Specialists, Inc. and Clean Solution Experts, Inc. (“Janitorial Defendants”); and principals Martha Arciniega, Joseph Branch, Alicio Mendoza Galeno, and Erica Perez (“Individual Defendants”) entered into agreements with two supermarket clients - Chedraui USA, Inc., which operates El Super, and Super Center Concepts, Inc., which operates Superior Grocers ("Supermarket Defendants”). The Janitorial Defendants provided services to approximately 75 El Super and Superior stores, primarily in Los Angeles County.
Feldstein Soto’s complaint alleges that the Janitorial Defendants knowingly and willfully failed to: (1) pay their workers required minimum and overtime wages; (2) provide required meal periods or premium wages for missed meal periods; (3) provide paid sick leave; (4) provide legally compliant wage statements; (5) maintain required wage and hour records; and (6) pay all wages earned and unpaid upon employees’ discharge or resignation. The complaint also alleges that they unlawfully required employees to execute releases before they received the payment of wages already owed.
Under California Labor Code section 2810.3, the Supermarket Defendants share civil liability for the unpaid wages owed to the Janitorial Defendants’ employees and all damages and penalties owed due to failure to pay wages. The California legislature passed section 2810.3, in part, to ensure that end-users of contracted services cannot evade responsibility for wage violations committed on their premises. In addition, under Labor Code section 2810, the Supermarket Defendants entered into unlawful contracts with the Janitorial Defendants because they knew or should have known that the contracts did not include enough funds to allow the Janitorial Defendants to comply with all applicable laws and regulations governing the services provided. As alleged in the complaint, the contracts were insufficient to cover the cost of minimum and overtime wages, paid sick leave, payroll taxes, and compliant workers’ compensation insurance for all employees used to clean all the stores.
Feldstein Soto’s complaint alleges that the defendants took advantage of these workers and committed these violations because they knew that the janitorial workers, in this case, were vulnerable members of society. They are largely immigrants, economically distressed, and not proficient in English, and thus perceived as less likely to complain about their workplace treatment.
The People seek all damages and penalties available under the Labor Code. Under the Unfair Competition Law, the People seek injunctive relief to stop the Defendants’ unlawful and unfair practices. The People also seek restitution for wages owed to the janitorial employees, and statutory penalties to punish defendants for their harmful conduct and to deter them from engaging in similar conduct in the future.
Deputy City Attorneys Joshua Crowell and Nikhil Dandekar of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Public Right Branch are managing this litigation.
Since taking office in December 2022, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has made stopping wage theft and protecting workers a priority, as 88% of low-wage workers in LA County are experiencing wage theft.
The new Workers’ Rights Division she established provides legal advice and assistance to the Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA) of the Department of Public Works, which administers and enforces local laws that protect workers. The Public Rights Branch she established pursues civil law enforcement actions, typically in the name of the People of the State of California, seeking redress for workers who have been misclassified as independent contractors and have suffered from wage theft, or other unlawful or unfair labor practices. In recent years, the Branch’s attorneys have recovered substantial back pay for car wash workers and home health care workers, and have established a level playing field for truck drivers at the City’s Port complex. The Branch has also recovered restitution for health care workers who were unlawfully charged substantial penalties for early termination of their contracts.
Feldstein Soto encourages those who believe they are victims of wage theft to contact the City’s Office of Wage Standards. Their email address is wagesla@lacity.org and phone number is 1-844-WAGESLA.
Superior Court Of The State Of California - County Of Los Angeles, Case #24STCV18842
The People of the State of California, Plaintiff, vs. Modern Floor Specialists, Inc., a California corporation; Clean Solution Experts, Inc., a California corporation; Chedraui USA, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Super Center Concepts, Inc., a California corporation; Martha Arciniega, an individual; Joseph Branch, an individual; Alicio Mendoza Galeno, an individual; Erica Perez, an individual.
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Hydee Feldstein Soto is the 43rd Los Angeles City Attorney, elected in November 2022 and sworn into office in December 2022. Her team of more than 1,000 legal professionals, including 550 attorneys, carries out legal work for the City of Los Angeles at her direction and under her supervision. She is the first female City Attorney in L.A. history.