Labor & Employment
Working at the Car Wash Can Be Criminal, LA City Attorney Says
Posted Feb 11, 2009, 12:11 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Dozens of Los Angeles employees aren't singing the praises of working at the car wash.
In fact, it's a sweatshop situation for many that resembles indentured servitude, says City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. He has filed criminal charges against three men, accusing two brothers, Benny and Nissan Pirian, of systemic labor law violations at four family-owned car washes. If convicted, they face as much as 80 years in jail and more than $100,000 in fines, reports the New York Times.
Workers at the car washes say they weren't paid minimum wage or overtime and didn't receive medical care for cuts and burns caused by machinery and chemicals at the car washes. Their breaks and access to drinking water were severely limited, according to the criminal complaint.
Benny Pirian declined to comment; the newspaper apparently couldn't reach his brother. The third man charged is Manuel Reyes, a manager who is accused by prosecutors of attempting to intimidate workers who tried to form a union. He says the charges against him aren't true but otherwise declined to discuss them.
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