Janitor sues gig firm over status
The simmering debate over whether gig economy workers should be considered employees or independent contractors has spread to janitorial services.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Francisco accuses CleanNet USA — a business that connects individual janitors and companies with buildings to clean — of inappropriately classifying those janitors as franchise owners while treating them as employees.
CleanNet sets their work schedules and determines how much they are paid, according to the suit, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court. The complaint also says janitors receive less than California’s minimum wage, don’t get legally required breaks and see their earnings cut by royalty and franchise fees deducted by the company.
The suit was filed on behalf of Louis Castillo, a San Francisco resident, but it seeks class-action status for other CleanNet janitors.
“I wanted to be my own boss, have my own business, but it never happened,” Castillo said, in a news release. “I lost my time, my money, my business and my dream.”
Legal Aid at Work, a San Francisco organization that provides legal advice and representation on labor issues, as well as the law firm of Duckworth Peters Lebowitz Olivier LLP filed the suit.
CleanNet — which is based in McLean, Va., but has operations in Northern and Southern California — could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The question of whether gig economy workers should be counted as employees, ensuring that they receive at least the minimum wage and overtime, has already sparked numerous lawsuits, both in the United States and abroad.
This month, for example, an employment tribunal in England ruled that Uber drivers there must be considered employees, something the San Francisco ride-hailing company has adamantly resisted. A closely watched lawsuit in a federal court in San Francisco has raised the same issue with food delivery service GrubHub. Homejoy, a San Francisco online agency for homecleaning services that shut down two years ago and entered bankruptcy proceedings, also faced lawsuits that hinged on the issue of employee versus contractor classification.