State sues LA car wash for minimum wage, forced overtime violations

State sues LA car wash for minimum wage violations

LOS ANGELES — The state has sued a Los Angeles car wash alleging the owners failed to pay workers minimum wage or overtime.

The lawsuit against Auto Spa Express, Inc. and its owner, Jonathan Min Kim, was filed Tuesday in Superior Court and seeks $630,000 in back wages and $2 million in penalties.

Attorney General Jerry Brown says the car wash illegally forced employees to work 60-hour weeks, denied injured employees workers’ compensation benefits and did not pay workers at all when there was no business.

The claim says workers were paid $6.32 an hour. The state minimum wage is $8 per hour.

The suit also names Sunset Car Wash LLC, which bought the business recently.

Calls to the business were not returned Tuesday afternoon.