CalRecycle targets wage violators

California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has signed a cooperative agreement with U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to target and enforce illegal labor practices within California’s beverage container recycling industry.

As part of the memorandum of understanding, CalRecycle and WHD say they will share information and coordinate enforcement efforts to combat wage and hour violations, wage theft, fraud and other illegal labor practices against workers at certified beverage container recycling centers in California.

“We’re pleased to work with the U.S. Department of Labor as part of our ongoing efforts to protect the integrity of California’s beverage container recycling program,” says CalRecycle Director Caroll Mortensen. “This alliance will help us level the playing field and remove noncompliant operators that gain an unfair advantage over legitimate business owners by failing to pay proper wages and taxes.”

The partnership agreement between CalRecycle and WHD follows a WHD investigation that resulted in a $77,000 judgment against Recycling Innovation and Valley Recycling and its owner Karim Ameri, who was ordered to pay penalties, damages and back wages to 13 workers at his recycling center in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.

Violations found during that investigation led WHD to expand its investigation of recycling centers in the San Fernando Valley and to collaborate with CalRecycle to share information and conduct joint training exercises. Those subsequent investigations have thus far revealed substantial wage and hour violations.

“Employees who work in the recycling industry are some of our country’s lowest-paid workers who, especially during hard economic times, are vulnerable to exploitation,” says Ruben Rosalez, regional administrator for the Department of Labor. Rosalez joined with CalRecycle Deputy Director for Beverage Container Recycling Jose Ortiz to sign the three-year agreement at the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Sacramento.

CalRecycle anticipates the partnership with WHD will not only help identify and deter wage and hour violations but also strengthen its ability to deter fraud within the state’s beverage container recycling program. As the location for nearly half of the state’s recycling centers, the greater Los Angeles area and San Fernando Valley will remain the focus of WHD’s and CalRecycle’s current investigative efforts, according to a CalRecycle news release.

California’s bottle bill provides an incentive for beverage container recycling by establishing a California Redemption Value (CRV) of 5 cents for containers holding less than 24 ounces and 10 cents for containers holding 24 ounces or more. However, CRV only applies to beverages in qualifying containers that were purchased within California. Out-of-state containers are not eligible for CRV.