■ The Community Corp. of Santa Monica must reimburse Rufus Kirkwood $1,000 for janitorial services performed over the last nine months.
Kirkwood sued Community Corp. for $2,917 in back pay, asking for a 40 percent increase over and above what was agreed upon in a 1994 employment contract. Kirkwood made $2-a-month profit on the job because he pays an independent contractor $600 to clean the building. But he only receives $602 from the Community Corp.
Kirkwood claimed that he asked the Community Corp. for more money in 2001, when the nonprofit organization expanded its office on Second Street. Kirkwood said no one responded to his requests for months.
But Community Corp. officials disagreed. They said they didn’t hear from Kirkwood until late March of this year, and he immediately demanded retroactive pay. They added that Kirkwood refused their offer to raise his pay to $757 per month effective May 1.
Judge Pro Tem Herb Rubinstein awarded Kirkwood $1,000 because there was more to clean at an expanded office. He also advised Kirkwood to be more diligent in his invoicing. He suggested that Kirkwood send invoices for the amount he considers fair, thereby necessitating a meeting if a disagreement arises.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 17, 2002. Read the original PDF.