Long Beach car washers get $229,000 after five-year wage theft investigation

On Tuesday morning, 22 former Long Beach car wash workers finally got their paychecks after a five-year wage theft investigation.

For 35 years, Hernandez worked at the Classic and Castle Carwash on the Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach. Even though he shared the same fears as his coworkers, Hernandez bravely reached out to the nonprofit, Clean Car Wash Work Center looking for help on some missing paychecks.

"Many of my coworkers shared their fear of speaking up," Anselmo Hernandez said through a translator.

The nonprofit helped launch a California Labor Commission Investigation which found that Hernandez's employer owed thousands of hours of unpaid wages and overtime. While the employer paid some of the funds owed, the payments suddenly stopped when the owner sold the business.

With Hernandez and his coworkers left with unfinished payments, the commission tried to find other ways to recover what was owed. 

"We found records and found real estate property, and we were able to place a lien on that property," said California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower when the employer was informed, they contacted us, and made the payment that was necessary."

One by one the workers got their long-awaited checks with some of the workers receiving $20,000. García-Brower said that this case should serve as a shining example that workers have rights.

"Your immigration status doesn't matter," said García-Brower. "What matter is that you document your hours worked, and you know who you work for. So that if in fact, you experience a violation, you can take action."