Dozens of janitors cleaning Sound Transit stations were paid $20 an hour instead of the legally required $29.33 prevailing wage. Each worker is owed an estimated $100,000 in unpaid wages and penalties, according to an investigation published Monday, Sept. 28.
The Lynnwood Times first reported that Jusalis House Cleaning, an unlicensed subcontractor hired by prime contractor Dexterra Services LLC, systematically underpaid about 25 workers on the taxpayer-funded light rail janitorial contract. Across those workers, the total owed exceeds $2 million. Washington's Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) is investigating.
The findings carry weight in Everett. Mayor Cassie Franklin sits on the Sound Transit Board, and the agency's $42 million janitorial contract with Dexterra covers facilities system-wide. The planned Everett Link Extension will eventually add stations to that footprint.
How workers were paid
Workers told the Lynnwood Times they cleaned stations 8 to 10 hours a day, seven days a week, with no days off. They never received pay stubs. Jusalis issued personal checks with no tax deductions on an irregular schedule, and workers went two full months without any pay.
One worker, identified as Worker A, earned $4,500 for 225 hours in May 2025. At prevailing wage, that check should have been $6,599.
"I would have to go out and borrow money from friends and family," Worker A told the Lynnwood Times through an interpreter. His landlord charged interest on late rent.
Workers received no payment at all for November and December 2025 and had not been paid for those months as of Sept. 28.
The contract
Sound Transit's Rider Experience and Operations Committee approved the five-year Dexterra contract on July 18, 2024, through Motion M2024-44. The deal covers janitorial services at all Sound Transit train stations, garages, maintenance facilities, platforms, bus shelters and elevators. The base contract is worth $26 million, with $15.9 million in expansion capacity.
Under Washington's prevailing wage law (RCW 39.12), every contractor and subcontractor on a public project must file a Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages and submit certified payroll reports monthly. Dexterra did neither for Jusalis, the Lynnwood Times reported. It did not disclose Jusalis as a subcontractor and did not file certified payroll on its behalf.
L&I notified Dexterra of problems with Jusalis's account status. That notice went ignored, according to the investigation.
What changed
Workers filed a prevailing wage complaint with L&I in November 2025. When investigators contacted Jusalis, co-owner Francisco Vargas told them all owed wages had been paid. Workers disputed that claim.
Jusalis is operating without a valid business license, L&I confirmed.
Dexterra has since terminated Jusalis and replaced it with Global Cleaning Services. About 12 former Jusalis employees now work for Global, which has been paying $30 an hour with regular checks, workers told the Lynnwood Times.
The Lynnwood Times reported it contacted Jusalis, Dexterra and Sound Transit for comment. Jusalis and Dexterra did not respond. Sound Transit was unable to respond by the publication deadline.
What's next
The L&I investigation remains open with no public timeline. State Rep. Julio Cortes, whose 38th Legislative District includes Everett, introduced HB2119 last session to let workers file private suits to recover unpaid wages. The bill did not advance. Cortes plans to refile it next session, the Lynnwood Times reported.
