Extension of the Car Washing & Polishing Law and $1 Million in Fines

Being called the Carwash Worker Law by union groups, the expiration date of the required Car Washing and Polishing Registration law in the State of California has been extended to January 1, 2014. Anyone owning a car wash or polishing business in the State of California that has labor for more than just maintenance and cashiering, must register with the State of California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Failure to pay the $300 to register, and renew annually, will result in a $10,000 fine – something 76 car wash owners recently found out.

From a November 2, 2009 press release issued by the Department of Industrial Relations the California Labor Commissioner’s Office issued over $900,000 in fines to car wash industry businesses in a two day statewide enforcement sweep which began October 28.

“Requiring carwash businesses to register with the state allows us to focus on those businesses that undercut their competition, which makes it difficult for legitimate carwash businesses to stay in operation,” said California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet. “As part of the underground economy, these illegal businesses often do not pay state taxes, and take advantage of employees by not providing workers’ compensation coverage or paying proper wages.”

42 investigators inspected 230 car wash businesses and issued 141 citations against 103 car wash businesses. Citations issued totaled $916,711 of which $600,900 came from 76 car wash businesses cited for not registering with the State.

Investigators found 49 businesses that failed to provide workers’ compensation coverage for their employees. Citations issued totaled $240,000 and businesses without workers’ compensation coverage were issued stop work orders, which prevents them from operating with employee labor.

Among the other citations were 12 cases where the employer did not provide employees a wage deduction statement, one case of improper payment of minimum wage and one case of improper payment of overtime. Two businesses were found to have hired minors without having the required work permits on file.

This registration law, like it or not, is in place to protect car wash workers and not complying with this law will result in a $10,000 fine for owners who have no labor violations and even larger fines for a owner who may have minimal labor violations. Yes, registering helps the Commissioner enforce better labor practices, but failure to register only makes your facility a bigger target.

WCA has requested a meeting with the Commissioner to discuss how her office is going to educate car wash owner/operators on the extension of the registration law.

To learn more about this law please visit the California Department of Industrial Relations. Thank you for keeping our industry moving forward in a positive way by maintaining your registration and reporting operators who are in violation of the law.

DIR Hotline
If you know or suspect a car wash, mobile or dwelling detailer, or other car wash business having more than one employee that may not be registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations, please contact the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement at 877-227-5158 for investigation. Please leave a message providing as much identifying information as possible, including the name and address, including city of the car wash, and details of the alleged violations you believe are taking place. This hotline will be monitored by the DLSE on a regular basis and appropriate enforcement activity will take place as required. You are not required to leave your name or phone number.

Our Members Conserve Water Every Day
Do You?

The following Western States are experiencing droughts:

• Hawaii
• California
• Texas
• Nevada
• Oregon
• Utah
• Idaho
• Wyoming
• Colorado

Visit the US Drought Monitor Map

The drought map is a graphical representation. Please check the provided url for drought conditions in your area. The drought map is updated weekly.