Yes. Three cleaning workers filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing WinCo Foods and its cleaning subcontractor, TEC Services, of classifying janitors as independent contractors instead of employees, according to Supermarket News.
The suit says that misclassification let WinCo and TEC Services skip wage and labor protections California law requires for employees. The case centers on janitors who cleaned WinCo grocery stores and says they were denied overtime pay, sick leave, and meal and rest breaks because they were treated as contractors rather than staff, per Supermarket News. The lawsuit is still in its early stages, with no ruling, class certification, or settlement reported as of the most recent coverage.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Supermarketnews — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the original report from Bloomberglaw — Use this primary source to review the complete report.
Table of Contents
- What the Lawsuit Actually Alleges
- How the Case Came to Public Attention
- What WinCo and TEC Services Have Said
- What the Lawsuit Seeks and Who It Covers
- Where the Case Stands and What to Watch For
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the Lawsuit Actually Alleges
The complaint, filed by three cleaning workers, claims janitors regularly stayed past their scheduled shifts to finish assigned cleaning tasks at WinCo stores but were paid only for the hours on their schedule, not the extra time worked, according to Supermarket News. The suit also alleges the workers were not given itemized wage statements, a basic disclosure California law requires so employees can check that their pay matches hours worked.
Beyond unpaid wages, the lawsuit alleges denied sick leave and denied meal and rest breaks, benefits tied to employee status that contractors typically do not receive, per Supermarket News. Together, these claims form the core of the misclassification argument: that WinCo and TEC Services structured the janitors' work as if they were contractors to avoid paying for wages and benefits employees are owed.
How the Case Came to Public Attention
The lawsuit was formally announced at a press conference on July 22, 2026, organized by the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund (MCTF), a California watchdog group that monitors janitorial working conditions, following a year-long investigation into cleaning conditions at WinCo stores, according to ScheerPost/Prism. MCTF's involvement suggests the case grew out of sustained monitoring of janitorial labor practices rather than a single isolated complaint.
Named plaintiff María Isabel Ramírez, who worked as a janitor cleaning WinCo stores, has said fear of retaliation and concerns connected to her immigration status kept her from reporting labor violations earlier, until she joined the lawsuit, per ScheerPost/Prism. Her account points to a common barrier in janitorial labor disputes: workers in vulnerable immigration situations may delay reporting wage violations out of fear of losing their jobs or facing other consequences.
What WinCo and TEC Services Have Said
WinCo responded that because the matter is pending litigation, it cannot comment on the specific allegations, and said it intends to review the claims thoroughly and respond through the legal process, according to Supermarket News. That is a standard corporate response to active litigation and does not confirm or deny the underlying claims.
TEC Services, the cleaning subcontractor named in the suit, did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations, per Supermarket News. With neither company offering a substantive rebuttal yet, the only detailed account of events currently on record is the one laid out in the plaintiffs' complaint.
What the Lawsuit Seeks and Who It Covers
The lawsuit seeks unpaid wages, overtime compensation, statutory penalties under California labor law, and reimbursement of business expenses, along with other damages, on behalf of a proposed class of cleaning workers, according to Supermarket News. Because it is a proposed class action, the case would need to clear class certification before it could cover janitors beyond the three named plaintiffs — a step that had not occurred as of the most recent reporting. A reader checking the WinCo litigation landscape should also know that a separate, unrelated case, Garza v. WinCo Holdings, Inc.
(E.D. Cal., No. 1:20-cv-01354), filed in 2020, involved a non-exempt store employee's claims over time-rounding and overtime-calculation practices. That case does not involve janitors or contractor misclassification, and should not be confused with the TEC Services suit, per Bloomberg Law's case docket summary.
Where the Case Stands and What to Watch For
No published source reports a case number, a court ruling, a class certification decision, or a settlement in the WinCo/TEC Services janitor suit as of the August 2026 reporting, according to Supermarket News and ScheerPost/Prism. That means there is currently no claim form, deadline, or payout to act on. For anyone who worked as a janitor cleaning WinCo stores and suspects they were misclassified as a contractor, the practical next steps at this stage are limited but clear:.
- Watch for case developments, including whether the court grants class certification, since that step determines who the case would eventually cover.
- Keep personal pay records, schedules, and any wage statements, since documentation of hours worked and pay received is central to a misclassification claim.
- Treat any outreach claiming to represent the class with caution until a certified class and a formal claims process exist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a claim form to file for the WinCo janitor lawsuit?
No. As of the most recent reporting, no court has certified a class or approved a settlement, so there is no claim form or payout process yet.
Who is the named plaintiff in the WinCo janitor lawsuit?
María Isabel Ramírez, a janitor who cleaned WinCo stores, is a named plaintiff, according to ScheerPost/Prism.
Is the WinCo janitor case the same as the 2020 WinCo overtime lawsuit?
No. The 2020 case, Garza v. WinCo Holdings, Inc., involved a store employee's overtime-calculation dispute and did not involve janitors or contractor misclassification, per Bloomberg Law.