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April 25, 2024
California Department of Industrial Relations and Cal/OSHA Will Honor Workers’ Memorial Day at Four Events in California on April 28th-29th 2024. Cal/OSHA Joining Partners in Arcadia, Richmond, San Diego and San Francisco.

April 23, 2024
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April 22, 2024
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Jennifer Snyder, the Head Deputy of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office over their Healthcare Fraud Division, just discussed in her speech Wednesday, December 18^th 2013, during Noon time to the Employers’ Fraud Task Force group at their Christmas Party celebration, that contractors that underbid in order to win contracts often erroneously think they can get away with underreporting their payroll in order to pay less for their workers’ compensation insurance.   They think their chances of getting caught are slim.   

They simultaneously engage in underpaying their employees.  This causes these cheaters to get contracts by low-bidding when the only way they can charge so little is by engaging in fraud on their workers’ comp premiums and underpaying their employees against the standards set-down by state law.

Jennifer Snyder expressed to the Employers’ Fraud Task Force holiday party celebrators that her LADA’s office is dedicated to leveling the playing field and letting companies know who are competing for contracts that premium fraud will not pay for them.    Her office will prosecute them.

Today, the California Department of Industrial Relations issued a Press Release stating that the Labor Commissioner had issued over $332,600 in citations to a janitorial service.    Coincidentally, Jennifer Snyder mentioned janitorial services as an example of a type of company that can undercut for contracts and then have to violate wage law and commit premium fraud in order to provide their service for so little.   And this makes it unfair to competing businesses that play fair and by the rules.

Little Lopez Corporation of Fremont, California, was cited after an investigation which began after a complaint was filed in April 2013, as owing wages to 41 current and former employees.    They included $236,175 in wages owed plus $96,500 in civil penalties. 

Christine Baker, the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) made this statement, “These citations serve as a reminder that wage theft will not be tolerated in any form. The Labor Commissioner’s office stands ready to help both workers who get their wages taken, and all honest employers who comply with the law.” 

Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su stated, “We want to create a culture of compliance where employers profit by playing by the rules.  Employers who have concluded that it is cheaper to break the law, that the chances of getting caught are slim, and the costs even if you do get caught are minimal, should know that those days are over.” 

The Labor Commissioner’s investigation, which included interviews with Little Lopez President Victor Lopez Arriaga and his employees, as well as a review of documents, encountered multiple violations of hourly, overtime, minimum wage, rest and meal period laws over a three year period. Little Lopez Corporation provides cleaning staff to 17 supermarkets including FoodMaxx, Save Mart, Cost Less and Raley’s locations in Concord, Fremont, Oakland, Antioch, Brentwood, Ripon, Modesto, Riverbank, Oakdale, Turlock, Tracy and Sacramento. 

Investigators found that Little Lopez had employees sign blank time sheets in order to record inaccurate hours, minimizing the true amount of time worked. The employer denied overtime pay to seven workers scheduled for the full work-week and others who had worked more than eight hours a day but less than 40 hours per week. The janitors were not allowed 10-minute rest periods as required by law, but instead were told to combine them with a 30-minute lunch break.

Lopez is being named for individual liability on wages and premium citations, in addition to the corporation. 

lonce@adjuster.com