Labor Dept. Fines Maid Service for Contempt of Court

0

A Gardena housecleaning service has been fined by the U.S. Department of Labor after a ruling that the company ignored a court order to pay $4.5 million in back wages and damages to its workers.

The Department of Labor has fined Southern California Maid Services Inc. and its owners, Sergio Maldonado and Lorenza Rubio, $227,791 in post-judgment interest and $2,400 in daily fines for failing to follow the August 2007 order issued by Judge Andrew Guilford of the U.S. Central District Court for California in Santa Ana.

The case arose out of an investigation by the Labor Department’s wage and hour division that determined that the maid service and owners Maldonado and Rubio both Rolling Hills residents had classified employees as independent contractors and failed to pay them at least minimum wage and overtime as required under federal and state law.

Guilford ordered the company and its owners to pay $3.5 million in back wages and more than $1 million liquidated damages to 385 workers. The company did not appeal the ruling. On March 2 of this year, Guilford found the company in contempt, ordering the $227,791 interest payment and the $2,400 in daily fines, which so far have totaled around $100,000.

“The Department of Labor will not hesitate to take action to ensure workers receive the compensation they have worked hard for and earned,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a statement released Thursday.

A call to Southern California Maid Services seeking comment was not returned.

Previous article Paycheck Cut in Half for East West Bank CEO
Next article Actors in Tentative Deal
Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

No posts to display