Two thousand mostly Latino janitors won a $22.4 million class action settlement in the latest – and largest – lawsuit involving the failure of janitorial subcontractors to pay their employees according to overtime and minimum wage laws.  The janitors, who will receive as much as $10,000 each in the settlement, were employed by subcontractors of the national supermarket chains Safeway, Vons, Albertsons, and Ralph's.

The landmark settlement is the largest of a growing number of lawsuits over unlawful employment practices, known as "wage and hour" claims, involving the practices of janitorial subcontractors of major U.S. corporations.  The nation's largest janitors' union, SEIU is leading an effort to police janitorial companies -- and the corporations that hire them – that skirt the law.  SEIU has established a hot line for workers who have been illegally denied overtime pay – 1-866-339-6320.  More information is available at www.justiceforjanitors.org.