Two brothers who own four Los Angeles car washes were each sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay $1.25 million in unpaid wages to 54 workers, in what the City Attorney's Office today called a "landmark'' plea deal.
"What occurred at the car washes doesn't fit the technical definition of 'indentured servitude,' but people worked for years without receiving minimum wage or overtime; they worked in hazardous conditions where they were regularly exposed to chemicals and not provided with safety equipment to prevent injury; they weren't provided with drinking water ... It was really a sweatshop,'' said Deputy City Attorney Julia Figueira-McDonough who helped prosecute the case.
Benny and Nissan Pirian each pleaded no contest Friday to a half-dozen criminal counts, including conspiracy and grand theft, and several labor code violations.
They were each sentenced to 365 days in jail and four years of probation, and ordered to pay restitution.
The brothers own Celebrity Car Wash and Hollywood Car Wash -- both in Hollywood -- as well as Five Star Car Wash in Northridge and Vermont Hand Wash in Los Feliz.
According to the criminal complaint, their workers received a flat rate of $35 to $40 a day -- far below the federal and state minimum wages -- and no overtime. A few workers were paid only with tips, according to city prosecutors.
The workers, who often labor in extreme heat, said …
http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/08/16/owners-la-car-washes-sentenced-prison-wage-violati/
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