How many wage theft complaints is Fresno’s City Attorney investigating, prosecuting?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City Attorney’s Office has 26 wage theft investigations, filed two civil cases in court.
- City Attorney recently authorized to also pursue criminal prosecution of wage theft.
- Minority workers, construction and restaurant workers largely represented in complaints.
About 16 months after officially launching Fresno’s online wage theft complaint portal, City Attorney Andrew Janz says his office is investigating 26 cases of potential wage theft and has filed two civil actions against employers in court.
He announced the city’s first complaint last May against Pinnacle Hospitality and Development Inc. The owner of the firm, which operates the Holiday Inn off Highway 99 and Herndon Avenue, and a construction contractor are accused of failing to pay at least nine workers approximately $58,000 for work at the hotel.
In November, the city filed its second complaint against the now-shuttered Mariscos El Patron Mexican Restaurant over allegations the eatery failed to lawfully pay at least three workers.
Though his investigation into Valley Children’s Hospital’s wage practices is “on pause,” for now, Janz recently told The Fresno Bee “you can definitely anticipate” that the city will file more complaints against employers this year.
As the California Labor Commissioner’s Office was overwhelmed with cases, state lawmakers in 2023 authorized local public attorneys to pursue civil and criminal wage theft actions within their jurisdictions. In the years since, the state has awarded Janz’s office $1.47 million in grants to administer its Wage Protection Program.
Fresno’s City Council first authorized Janz to pursue civil wage theft cases in February 2024. Last month, in the latest expansion of Janz’s prosecutorial capabilities, the council gave his office the OK to also pursue criminal actions against employers accused of labor law violations while also adding two grant-funded staff positions to bolster Fresno’s Wage Protection Program. In recent years, the council has authorized Janz to criminally prosecute misdemeanor graffiti crimes, scrap metal theft and unhoused people for camping outside.
Janz says the added positions are necessary to fill experience gaps among the program’s staff and “given the increased case load.” His office has reported a recent surge in wage theft complaints as community organizations are referring impacted workers to the city’s program.
Many of the workers are minorities and from the construction and restaurant industries, Janz said. He said the city does not ask workers about their immigration status when they file a complaint.
City of Fresno’s Holiday Inn, Mexican restaurant wage theft cases
Fresno County court records show Pinnacle Hospitality, the north Fresno Holiday Inn operator, has argued its contractor is to blame for the $58,000 allegedly withheld from eight laborers who performed remodeling work at the hotel between 2023-2024. The city sued Pinnacle Hospitality, owner Lakhwinder Singh Brar and contractor Juan Moreno.
The city’s complaint says Brar and Moreno “conspired to cheat workers” of their wages, and that Moreno was “instructed to recruit vulnerable, underprivileged workers” for the construction job.
Pinnacle Hospitality’s attorney, Justin Campagne, did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment Wednesday. But he has filed an answer in court to the city’s complaint that denies the accusations against Pinnacle Hospitality, as well as a complaint against Moreno, the firm’s co-defendant, and another contractor named Robert Perez.
In that complaint, Pinnacle Hospitality argues that the workers were employed by Perez and Moreno, and any damages they suffered were the fault of the contractors. Pinnacle Hospitality also wants to recover $120,280 that the firm says it paid Moreno.
The city’s other wage theft complaint accuses Mariscos El Patron Mexican Restaurant of paying workers less than the minimum wage, failing to pay them for overtime worked and creating a “toxic work culture” where employees were only allowed to take breaks when there was no work to be performed. The restaurant was previously located near Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Cedar Avenue but it’s listed online as permanently closed.
