Monday, August 26, 2013

Local Octopus Car Washes Slapped by Labor Department

Posted By on Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 9:15 AM

octopus_car_wash.jpg

Things you should not do when running a business (a partial list): Work people under eighteen more than eight hours a day; have anyone work more than forty hours a week and pay them for 25; owe $313,333 in back wages to 292 current and former workers. But, yet, that's what the Department of Labor has uncovered at the Octopus Car Wash locations here in Tucson.

The lowlight? When it wasn't busy at these car washes, the management would take the employees off the clock, but require them to stay on premises until a manager or supervisor told them to work again. Of course, these unpaid breaks would at times last up to three hours.

Octopus has paid back wages to the employees they could find, but they were unable to find 200 former employees who are apparently just out of luck. Octopus was also forced to pay an undisclosed fine for over working one 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds.

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