State alleges wage abuse at O.C. firm

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra sued an Orange County janitorial company, alleging the firm engaged in a conspiracy to defraud its workers who clean the stores of major retailers throughout the state.

Becerra, in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, alleged One Source Facility Solution paid below minimum wage, underreported payroll taxes and gave false information to its workers’ compensation insurance carrier.

The Anaheim company is a subcontractor for facility management company USM and provides workers to clean the stores of Toys R Us, Ross Dress for Less and Burlington Coat Factory, among others, the attorney general’s office said.

“Working men and women, especially those who are paid close to the minimum wage, depend on every penny they’ve earned to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads,” Becerra said in a statement. “One Source exploited these hardworking, modest-earning Californians who clean the very stores we shop in.”

Dilip Joshi, whom the attorney general identified as the company’s chief executive, was also named in the suit.

Neither One Source nor Joshi could immediately be reached for comment. No one answered the phone at a number listed online for One Source or at a number listed for a Dilip Joshi of Orange County. And a website for the company could not be found. A spokeswoman for USM did not respond to a voice message seeking comment.

The lawsuit does not cite a specific number of One Source workers alleged to have been paid less than the minimum wage, but says that since 2013, One Source has hired “no fewer than 150 employees” to work in at least 80 locations. The attorney general’s office is asking that at least $1 million in restitution be paid to workers and any “other affected parties.”