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Janitorial watchdog uncovers Tesla contractor has denied workers breaks, legal wages and failed to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
LOS ANGELES—The state of California has cited and fined Tesla, Inc. and its janitorial subcontractors for violating a workers’ compensation law and a second investigation into wage theft is ongoing.
Investigators for the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a janitorial industry watchdog that has found $80 million in unpaid wages in the past 20 years, first uncovered the workers’ rights violations at the Tesla facility. Both the janitorial contractor and Tesla, which does not directly employ the janitors, are liable under new California labor law.
“I have been working in the cleaning industry for nine years. Unfortunately, when I worked at Tesla, I never received any job training, I did not have workers’ compensation benefits and my paychecks bounced,” said Santiago Paz, who worked as a janitor at the facility.
“I was not paid overtime and I never took any breaks. I was also misclassified as an independent contractor, which affected my taxes. In the end they fired me without just cause. Without a job my family and I were evicted from our home,” Paz said.
Last week, the California Labor Commissioner fined both Tesla and its janitorial subcontractor Orbit LLC more than $84,000 each for failing to hold workers’ compensation insurance.
“As the face of sustainability and clean energy, people want to think Tesla is making the world a better place, but that’s simply not true for its lowest-paid workers,” said Rafael Ventura, MCTF field director. “Tesla says it can make the impossible possible, so it should be able to do something as straightforward as ensuring janitors are provided with legal working conditions and create a leveled playing field for responsible employers.”
Tesla is known for its self-driving electric vehicles. But despite its $42 billion valuation, Tesla is undercutting its janitors through Orbit LLC. Orbit ownership is connected to another labor violation in which $1 million is owed to janitors at LAX.
There are more than 4,000 janitorial companies in California, representing more than 220,000 janitorial employees. As many as 50 percent of janitorial businesses operate underground, making the bidding process an increasingly hostile environment for law-abiding competitors. Janitorial companies are required to register with the California Labor Commission. Client companies, like Tesla, are cited if they contract with an unregistered employer.
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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.