Photo: www.publiclibraries.comOne Sacramento landscaping company is facing some series violations against the California Labor Commission.
California Labor Commissioner, Julie Su, cited Michael Mellow, owner of Green Valley Landscaping Services, $664,764 for wage theft violations affecting a maximum of 43 workers from Aug. 9 2010 to Aug. 8, 2013, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.
The sanctions include minimum wage violations of $338,176 for more than 40 employees, $169,088 in unpaid overtime and $157,500 for failure to provide itemized wage statements, which is required under California law.
The Labor Commissioner’s Office opened the investigation of the company after receiving a complaint, as well as individual claims, for underpayment of wages. The complaints also included the company potentially misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
In the investigation, California’s Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF) found that Green Valley landscaping was using a workforce of up to 43 employees while reporting less than 10 employees on its payroll.
I found this case extremely interesting, because it shows the importance of why landscapers need to follow proper business techniques and laws.
Understanding state laws and how they work is mandatory for any landscaper to know, and it is also important to share that information with your employees so they also understand how the business operates.
There are a lot of laws about employee verification and a lot happening in the world of politics when it comes to landscaping, but this is something business owners can control.
Do your research, know the laws, and in the end, don’t let this be you.
