Common Industry Abuse

There are more than 6,000 registered contractors in California, employing over 229,000 janitors. Many are guilty of at least one of the following:

• Failure to pay for all hours worked
• Failure to pay minimum wage, overtime, and doubletime
• Failure to compensate for 7 consecutive work days
• Failure to authorize mandated meal & rest periods
• Failure to maintain appropriate records
• Failure to pay on regularly scheduled pay days
• Failure to reimburse for materials bought at janitor’s expense
• Payment with checks without sufficient funds
• Payment in cash without appropriate paper work
• Failure to deduct state and federal taxes
• Failure to report work site injuries
• Failure to comply with health and safety regulations
• Failure to purchase adequate workers’ compensation insurance
• Tax Fraud
• Misreporting employees as 1099’s independent contractors

SUBCONTRACTING: Janitorial companies often subcontract to skirt the law. It insulates them from liability for employment law infractions and frees them from the insurance and tax costs of having directly-employed janitors. And because so many subcontractors are here-today-gone-tomorrow, these burdens are usually passed on to the general public.

GHOSTING:  Contractors often bid to provide a set amount of cleaning hours but then speed up production to increase their own profit. Janitors are given less hours to clean the same space, compromising both quality of service and health & safety.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION FRAUD:  Contractors often purchase minimal insurance to demonstrate proof to clients, but do not provide complete coverage. They may purchase insurance for just a few employees or refer to them as “administrative employees” to avoid the cost of insuring workers exposed to greater risks such as usage of toxic chemicals and heavy machinery.

RAMPANT FEDERAL & STATE LABOR LAW VIOLATIONS have been documented by the US Department of Labor and the CA Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Millions have been assessed in unpaid wages. This blatant disregard for the law exposes clients to severe liability and robs the public of millions in unpaid tax revenues.