The International Janitorial Cleaning Services Association is proud to announce three new insurance programs for our members. They are janitorial business insurance, surety bonds, and group health insurance for yourself and your employees.  For the group health insurance, we have partnered with Allstate Benefits to provide medical coverage as well as dental and vision benefits for members with at least 2 employees in most states (although 100 employees are required in New York). They have several options for coverage as well as some fantastic rates. Our janitorial business insurance is now through Thimble. They offer great coverage without the surprise fees that our previous vendor had. We have also partnered with the Bond Exchange to help our members find affordable surety bonds when you need them. You can pay for your bond upfront and save money or, if you prefer, they also offer low monthly payments to fit almost any budget.   Learn more about these programs @ https://ijcsa.org/insurance

US Department of Labor recovers more than $114K in back wages, damages for 100 employees denied overtime by Orlando-based hotel cleaning agency | U.S. Department of Labor

APDC Cleaning Services Inc. failed to pay workers employed across 4 states

Employer:   APDC Cleaning Services Inc.

                     5824 Precision Drive, Orlando, FL 32819

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that a Florida hotel staffing company failed to combine hours worked by 100 employees at several locations paying them straight-time rates for all hours worked, including overtime hours. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the required time-and-a-half overtime premium for hours over 40 hours in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages:        

$57,177 in back overtime wages

$57,177 in liquidated damages       

                                        

Quote: “The hard work done by hospitality industry workers allows guests to enjoy their accommodations. Often, they work long hours and deserve to be paid all their legally earned wages, including overtime,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “When employees work at more than one location, their employers must combine hours worked at all locations to calculate overtime wages properly. The Wage Hour Division is committed to safeguarding workers’ rights to get paid their rightfully earned wages.”

Background: Operating at 19 hotels in Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina, APDC Cleaning Services Inc. provides workers for various jobs, including cleaning and maintenance positions at hotels and other hospitality worksites.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

More at source: Department Of Labor

Find A Cleaning Service Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

'Swedish death cleaning' TV series aims to help you organize your home – and your mind

"The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" is now a TV series streaming on Peacock. It follows three Swedish death cleaners – Ella Engström, an organizer; Johan Svenson, a designer; and Katarina Blöm, a psychologist – as they assist Americans in Kansas City trying to tidy up their lives, materially and emotionally. (The familiar voice Amy Poehler narrates, and she serves as executive producer.)

"It's a very deeply rooted way of handling your life in Sweden to not burden other people and also not live excessively," Svenson says.

More at source: USA Today

Find A Cleaning Service Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

Redditors blast $16/hour job where you might have to clean poop

People online are criticizing the pay associated with a job posting for a cleaner who would “agree to clean dog poop, human poop and vomit.”

A janitorial and building management company’s job posting was shared on Reddit recently. Hundreds of comments from people condemned similar employers paying around minimum wage for employees working with biohazards.

According to the Alliance Maintenance Ltd. job posting for a full-time building cleaner in Burnaby, BC, the hourly wage is $16.

While the pay is above the current minimum wage in BC ($15.65), Reddit users criticized the company and others that pay around this range because of the high cost of living in the region. 

More at source: Daily Hive Canada

Discuss This Article Here

Find A Cleaning Service Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

Government JANITORIAL Contractors Indicted in San Antonio for Wire Fraud, Money Laundering

SAN ANTONIO – A federal grand jury in San Antonio returned an indictment last week charging four members of a San Antonio family with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

According to court documents, Kenneth Flores, Christopher Flores, Antonio Flores Jr., and Irma Flores, are alleged to have conspired together to defraud the United States by eliminating competition and fixing contract awards and prices on Army contracts for the housekeeping and janitorial services at Army Hospitals and Medical Centers.  The alleged scheme involved a corrupt partnership between the Floreses and co-conspirator government employees Karisa Waysepappy Kelley and John Jordan “Chip” Mathes, involving millions of dollars in work on Army healthcare housekeeping and janitorial services contracts in return for bribes and kickbacks, eliminating the Flores’ competition in the process.

The defendants made their initial court appearances Monday, April 10, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard B. Farrer of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

The four defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all charges, they each face a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

More at source: Department Of Justice

Find A Certified Janitorial Service Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

US tornadoes: Clean-up begins after at least 32 killed in storms in South and Midwest

Residents across a wide area of the US raced to assess the destruction from fierce storms that were the possible cause of dozens of tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast which killed at least 32 people.

The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital and also collapsed the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, shocking people throughout the region with the scope of the damage.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eleven states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighbourhoods across a broad swathe of the country. 

More at source: New York Times

Find A Flood Damage Restoration Company Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

Janitor trapped for days inside Orange County Courthouse holding cell files lawsuit

She went without food and her medicine for diabetes.

She was also forced to drink water from part of a toilet.

The lawsuit is asking for damages in excess of $50,000.

More at source: WFTV

Find A Janitorial Service Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

Midwest Meat Plant Cleaning Service Fined $1.5M for Hiring Minors

One of the country’s largest cleaning services for food processing companies employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country, the U.S. Department of Labor said in early March as it announced over $1.5 million in civil penalties.

The investigation into Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, began last summer. Department officials searched three meatpacking plants owned by JBS USA and Turkey Valley Farms in Nebraska and Minnesota, and found 31 underage workers as young as 13. They also searched PSSI’s headquarters in Kieler, Wisconsin. Underage workers were found at plants in eight states.

More at source: Insurance Journal

Find A Janitorial Service Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

Tennant Company Expands Ride-on Scrubber Portfolio with Introduction of Two New Scrubbers

Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC), a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions to reinvent how the world cleans, today announced the two newest additions to its ride-on scrubber portfolio: the T681 and T981 scrubbers.

The T681 is a small ride-on scrubber that’s maneuverable for its size but has larger solution and recovery tanks than our existing models, allowing the machine to be more productive by cleaning more square footage in less time. The T681 features intuitive controls that allow for easy operation in medium to large spaces such as retail stores, hospitals and schools. The T981 is a ride-on scrubber that’s easy to operate and maintain, helping customers meet facilities’ cleaning performance needs with easy-to-choose pre-set programs. The T981 is well suited for cleaning light-to-medium dirt in large spaces such as retail, logistics and light industrial applications.

“What these new scrubbers really offer are more choices for the right job,” said Pat Schottler, Vice President, Global Marketing at Tennant Company. “Customers today are looking for the right combination of equipment for their facility—and the ideal mix includes size, application, maneuverability and budget. The T681 and T981 are great options for customers who want the known value of the Tennant experience and are looking for high-quality equipment with simple yet effective scrubber technology—all at a competitive price.”

More at source: Tennant

Find A Janitorial Service Here

Discuss This Article Here

More Cleaning & Janitorial News Here

Join Today!

#Janitorial #Cleaning News: Attention SUPPLIERS! IJCSA is offering open enrollment period for new Sponsors! Join today and put your business in front of our active 2200+ members and their families - https://t.co/TSnYWyh0p4 pic.twitter.com/0ny7mZsxGF

— IJCSA (@IJCSA) March 16, 2023