MINNEAPOLIS - The workers who clean major retail stores like Kmart, Target and Best Buy often face shocking conditions of exploitation, including heavy workloads, long hours and lost wages, according to a new study of the industry and a lawsuit against a major cleaning contractor. The information was released Wednesday by CTUL, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha/the Center for Workers United in Struggle, a community organization that works for fair wages and better conditions for retail cleaning workers, many of whom are recent immigrants.

Last fall, workers employed by Diversified Maintenance Systems, a cleaning contractor for retail stores including Kmart, Target, and Best Buy, filed suit, charging that the cleaning contractor required them to work up to 80 hours a week without overtime pay. Diversified Maintenance has been the subject of at least six private lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor over its failure to pay overtime wages.

More at source: Workday Minnesota