Five day laborers each worked more than 24 hours straight cleaning homes for the Just Clean cleaning business owned by 21-year-old Samuel Just. Four of the workers, all women, cleaned the homes of Orthodox Jews before Passover, working around the clock to get their jobs done. The fifth worker, a man, drove a vehicle for Just Clean and shuttled the workers from the corner of Division Street and Marcy Avenue in the heavily hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg to their jobs cleaning in local Orthodox homes. But Just Clean failed to pay them all.
Above:Samuel Just
Orthodox Cleaning Business Owner Arrested For Allegedly Defrauding Day Laborers
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A young Orthodox Brooklyn businessman was arrested Thursday for not paying day laborers he hired, the Daily News reported.
Five day laborers each worked more than 24 hours straight cleaning homes for the Just Clean cleaning business owned by 21-year-old Samuel Just. Four of the workers, all women, cleaned the homes of Orthodox Jews before Passover, working around the clock to get their jobs done. The fifth worker, a man, drove a vehicle for Just Clean and shuttled the workers from the corner of Division Street and Marcy Avenue in the heavily hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg to their jobs cleaning in local Orthodox homes.
But Just Clean failed to pay them all.
"This defendant allegedly preyed on vulnerable people seeking employment, then cheated them out of their hard earned wages," Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson reportedly said in statement.
The workers were promised $10 to $14 per hour to clean the houses. One of them is owed $2,300. She allegedly worked 27 hours straight.
When Just did give workers checks, the checks bounced, sources sources told the Daily News.
In all Just owes the workers more than $4,500.
Other day laborers at the intersection told the Daily News that Just was not the only prospective employer who rips off day laborers.
"They rarely pay you completely. We work very hard," a female day laborer who did not want to be identified told the paper. "If you work for four hours, they might pay you for three and a half, or sometimes even less. A lot of things happen here, every one of us has had a bad experience."
The Workers Justice Project filed a complaint with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office about Just Clean which led to Just’s arrest.
Just was expected be charged with scheme to defraud and failure to pay wages.