BOSTON (CN) - Jan-Pro Franchising International cheats its cleaning employees by misclassifying them as franchisees, selling them "franchises" through misrepresentations, violates labor laws, and targets immigrants for all this, a class action claims in Federal Court.
The three named plaintiffs say Jan-Pro abuses its workers by "systemic misrepresentations and breaches of contract. ... Most notably, Jan-Pro purports to sell cleaning 'franchises,' knowing it does not have sufficient business to satisfy its obligations under its franchise agreements. Individuals purchase these 'franchises' for substantial sums of money, based on Jan-Pro's misrepresentations about the guaranteed amount of monthly income the franchises will provide."
Jan-Pro targets people who do not speak English well for its deceptions, knowing they will not understand the contracts, and misrepresents the hourly pay they will receive, the plaintiffs say.
Plaintiff Giovanni Depianti bought his "franchise" by paying Jan-Pro "an initial fee of $23,400," and Hyun Ki Kim paid "an initial fee of $14,400," the suit states.
Jan-Pro claimed to guarantee them "a certain level of monthly income," but "systematically breaches" these agreements, the men say.
Depianti was guaranteed $8,000 a month and earned less than $3,000, and Kim was guaranteed $7,000 a month and made less than $4,000, the men say.
They claim Jan-Pro churns accounts by manufacturing bogus "customer complaints" to take business away from one of its victims to offer it to another.
Represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan with Pyle Rome Lichten, the class demands damages for misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and wage law violations.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.