Tower Car Wash was recently ordered to pay workers $500,000 to settle an employee wage dispute with the city of San Francisco. In addition to the settlement, which will cover back wages for unpaid minimum wage and overtime, the employer must pay $70,000 for court and investigation costs.

According to the claims, the employer failed to pay employees for all of their hours worked. When they arrived at the place of business, they were expected to wait until it got busy before clocking in. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), any time employees are under the control of their employer, they must be compensated for their time attendance. This includes time spent waiting for tasks.

"Though Tower Car Wash was wrong to require workers to wait for hours without pay, its owners deserve credit for promptly fixing their scheduling policies, and working cooperatively with us to fully and fairly compensate their employees," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

Employers who respond quickly to investigations, by bringing their payroll policies into compliance might be able to reduce or mitigate some of the costs and penalties involved in an employee lawsuit. 

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