Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Northridge Classic Car Wash has been ordered to pay $160,000 in back wages to 84 low-wage workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Investigators found that the employees did not receive the required minimum wage and overtime pay for all hours worked. The Northridge, Calif. employer also failed to properly record hours of work for the workers, who were car dryers, washers, detailers and ticket writers. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered the company to pay the back wages in a consent judgment entered May 4. The employees will receive back wages for work performed between September 2003 and December 2006.

“This is not the first Southern California case where we’ve found pay violations in this industry,” said George Friday Jr., the Wage and Hour Division’s regional administrator for the western states. “These low-wage workers were not properly compensated for their hours worked, and I am pleased we were able to recover $160,000 in back wages for them. The Department of Labor is committed to the strong enforcement of federal labor laws.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage and receive overtime at one-and-one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 31,987 compliance actions and recovered more than $171 million in back wages for more than 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. The agency offers a Web site – www.wagehour.dol.gov – to help employers properly pay and classify their employees. The site provides more information about the FLSA and an online tool for determining overtime eligibility, the elaws FLSA Overtime Security Advisor, at www.dol.gov/elaws/overtime.htm.

For more information about the laws the Wage and Hour Division enforces, call the Los Angeles office at (213) 894-6375 or the U.S. Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Chao v. Northridge Classic Car Wash Inc.
Civil Action Number: CV-06-5603 ODW (PJWx)

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