For the second time in recent months, an investigation from the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund has turned into a citation from the state
LOS ANGELES – The State of California has cited Tesla and its janitorial contractors for not paying janitors their full wages at one of Tesla’s San Jose facilities.
Workers who cleaned the facility between 2015 and 2018 were underpaid for the hours they worked, workers received checks with no deductions statement, and were misclassified as independent contractors. Tesla’s contractors, Leonardo Valencia and Orbit USA, LLC were cited and owe $370,000 for willfully misclassifying workers, including workers who worked at the Tesla facility. Leonardo Valencia and Orbit USA, LLC were also cited for underpaid work at the Tesla facility and other locations. Tesla was cited for more than $30,000 for violations of minimum wage and overtime requirements, meal and rest period violations, failure to comply with itemized statement provision, plus additional penalties.
To view the citations from the state of California visit this link.
“Too often, subcontractors have overworked and underpaid janitors with no consequences. New California laws help to give workers more protections and hold companies like Tesla responsible,” said Rafael Ventura, Interim Executive Director. “Tesla must stop using contractors who evade the law and exploit their workers to make their bottom line.”
“I was misclassified as an independent contractor so my employer could cut costs, even though I worked at Tesla full time,” said Santiago Paz. “I was denied overtime and my workers’ rights. I worked hard and I deserve to be paid fairly.”
The citations come several months after a previous citation, in which the State of California cited and fined Tesla, Inc., which does not directly employ the janitors, and its janitorial contractors for violating a workers’ compensation law. Investigators for the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a janitorial industry watchdog that has found $80 million in unpaid wages in the past 20 years, uncovered both sets of violations at the Tesla facility.
These citations are a disappointing reminder that some businesses and CEOs see paying their blue-collar workers as optional – even companies with CEOs who rank among the world’s richest people. Only continued oversight from the state and investigative groups, and ethical choices from companies and their janitorial contractors, will ensure that workers are paid what they are owed.
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The MCTF is a California statewide watchdog organization whose mission is to abolish illegal and unfair business practices in the janitorial industry. The MCTF investigates allegations of employment law violations and partners with local, state, and federal enforcement agencies to hold unscrupulous contractors accountable.