Audelia Molina, a Mexican immigrant, was earning 10 cents for every garment she trimmed at a factory in Los Angeles, America’s clothing-assembly capital. Her wage was so meager that she started putting in 11-hour days to drive up production. When she asked for a raise, a supervisor denied her request,…
Audelia Molina, a Mexican immigrant, was earning 10 cents for every garment she trimmed at a factory in Los Angeles, America’s clothing-assembly capital. Her wage was so meager that she started putting in 11-hour days to drive up production. When she asked for a raise, a supervisor denied her request, so she quit in July […]
State of California Orders Baja Fresh to Pay Nearly $400,000 for Wage Theft
Over a two year period, cooks and cashiers at seven locations did not receive full pay for hours worked
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Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Kahala Brands
Last month, the state of California cited and fined a Baja Fresh franchisee in the form of seven separate affiliated corporations for wage theft of 188 workers. After an investigation, the state labor commission discovered that from February 2017 to May 2018, 188 Baja Fresh restaurant workers experienced wage theft and will now receive $375,806 in unpaid wages.
California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower’s office stated that G & D Investments, Inc. dba Baja Fresh, seven other legal entities, and its CEOs set up different corporations for each restaurant, but shared employees between locations. By shuffling employees, cooks and cashiers did not receive full pay for hours worked, including overtime and double time, and double s