$22.4 Million FLSA Settlement For Contract Janitors

A recent $22.4 million tentative settlement entered into by three California grocery chains and 2,100 illegal alien contract janitors is another example of the success plaintiffs are having with the record number of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective actions being filed against employers. The settlement suggests that courts are willing to look past an employee’s independent contractor status and find that a company is a "joint employer" and liable for the FLSA violations of its contractor. It also signals that employers cannot avoid liability in an FLSA collective action just because the plaintiffs are illegal immigrants.

In Flores v. Albertsons, Inc., No. CV 01-00515 (C.D. Cal. 2002), a cleaning services company contracted with Albertsons, Ralph’s and Vons to provide nighttime janitorial services. The 2,100 janitors who serviced the grocery stores, primarily undocumented workers from Mexico, were designated "independent contractors." The janitors disputed their independent