Sacramento workers allege $30,000 wage theft by employers with history of labor violations

Daniel Mejia and Edgar Cortez spent last summer working long days in the heat to renovate houses across Sacramento.

Sometimes, they mowed lawns, mulched yards and painted. Other days, the men installed doors, cabinets and fences. Occasionally, they fixed irrigation pipes and performed electrical work at the request of their employers.

“We came back home tired,” said Cortez, 22. “So tired, you didn’t even want to bathe or brush your teeth.”

The work was for a company they believed to be called C&H Hauling and Landscaping, owned by two women who were subcontracted to renovate homes.

Now, nearly a year after completing these jobs, Mejia and Cortez are facing the issue that comes up most often for jornaleros — or day laborers: their former employers are refusing to pay them for all the hours they worked.

Mejia and Cortez are two of four workers alleging roughly $30,000 in unpaid wages. They have reported the wage theft violations by supposed C&H Hauling owners Maria Perez and Sandra Vilchez to the California Labor Commissioner, but remain stalled in the waiting process.

The two women have a history of such violations, according to state records.

Last year, Vilchez and Perez, who also goes by Mary, were each ordered by the Labor Commissioner’s office to a pay a day laborer about $5,400 in unpaid wages. The claim states Perez and Vilchez solicited the worker at a Home Depot to perform work across Sacramento.

The two women later failed to pay the worker for multiple days, which mirrors their latest alleged wage theft violation against Mejia and Cortez. The Labor Commissioner’s office did not respond to questions from The Sacramento Bee.

This financial hardship has devastated Mejia. Without the $13,000 he’s owed, he’s lost his home and has taken out a loan with a more than 30% interest rate to cover his everyday bills and car payments.

“It’s sad because you work to receive pay,” said Mejia, 28. “It’s for food. It’s for your bills.”

His circumstances are not surprising.

Wage theft costs California workers an estimated $2 billion a year, and disproportionately affects immigrants and people of color. Research shows immigrants are particularly vulnerable due to their citizenship status, which employers may use to intimidate them or threaten retaliation.

“This does happen a lot,” said Daniella Urban, executive director for the Center for Worker Rights, a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization helping low-wage workers. “But, not every worker is willing to stand up like they are.”

Perez and Vilchez could not be reached through phone numbers provided by workers, and verified online.

One of the numbers responded to a text message from The Bee, saying there is “no such business” called C&H Hauling. When asked if the person knew Vilchez or Perez, they repeated that C&H Hauling did not exist and said “wrong number.”

Workers provided The Bee with a Home Depot invoice they received from Vilchez that states her home address, phone number and the business name C&H Hauling and Landscaping.

‘If we didn’t keep going to work’

On a recent weekday morning in April, as the sun rose over the city of Stockton, Mejia and Cortez loaded the black pick-up truck for another day of work.

They have lived together since November, after Mejia moved in with Cortez. He was no longer able to pay the monthly rent for his home in Hayward, and Cortez’s mother offered him housing.

The men — wearing orange long sleeves shirts and dusty work boots — travel across Northern California for work. On that day, they would head to El Sobrante in Contra Costa County.

But last summer, they spent most of their days in the Sacramento area.

Mejia said he was hired by Perez and Vilchez in late April 2023, after they approached him with a work opportunity as he left a Home Depot. Cortez, who was connected to Mejia through his mom, started the following month.

Like many day laborers, they were hired without any official paperwork. Payments came in cash, checks and online Zelle payments deposited to their bank accounts, according to Cortez and Mejia.

Perez and Vilchez paid the day laborers fully for about three months, according to Mejia and Cortez. By July 28, the payments diminished, and the employers began paying only partial amounts. The group of four workers would receive wages for one, or roughly $500, said Mejia.

Eventually, Cortez and Mejia said, Perez and Vilchez stopped paying all together.

The day laborers continued working with their employers promising future wages and arguing that the homeowners were not paying.

“We thought if we didn’t keep going to work, then they wouldn’t pay what they owed us,” Mejia said.

Mejia and Cortez reached their breaking point in early September and stopped working for Perez and Vilchez.

Their numbers have since been blocked, said Mejia. Calls go to straight to voicemail or appear as not received.

‘The rights that we as workers have’

Cortez and Mejia filed individual claims with the California Labor Commissioner last October. But it could take another year until the two men receive their unpaid wages.

Urban said claims are required to go through multiple steps, including an attempted settlement conference and an eventual hearing.

“We don’t anticipate the employer going (to the settlement conference), so it will likely go to a hearing,” said Urban, who helped the day laborers file labor claims.

The workers have also tried reaching out to their former employers by mailing two letters to formally request payment.

The first demand letter sent in December was answered by Vilchez, who requested the workers complete an independent contractor tax form, or W-9. Urban said this is a deceptive response given that the workers aren’t independent contractors — a designation that requires individuals to own an independent business and set their hours and schedule.

“The employer didn’t seem to have a problem with them being employed while they were working,” Urban said. “But after they asked for their wages, they were like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, you were an independent contractor.’”

A second demand letter in February explaining the workers are not independent contractors was not answered.

So, for now, Mejia and Cortez must wait.

Lately, Mejia travels to Berkeley for framing jobs. Cortez, a civil engineering major at San Joaquin Delta College, tags along on days he doesn’t have class.

Mejia, who has years of construction experience, often takes the lead role with Cortez serving as his assistant and asking for advice.

“We’re like brothers, learning from each other,” Mejia said.

Workers who believe they are victims of wage theft are encouraged to reach out to organizations like the Center for Workers’ Rights or California Rural Legal Assistance that provide free or low-cost legal services.

Workers can also file wage claims with the Labor Commissioner’s Office. Individuals are not required to reveal their immigration status to file claims.

“We are speaking up about the rights that we as workers have,” Mejia said. “We are talking so other people hear the message and experiences that we are living through.”