diff --git a/lib/puppetlabs_spec_helper/rake_tasks.rb b/lib/puppetlabs_spec_helper/rake_tasks.rb
index e0a3e3e4..48d7a0ad 100644
--- a/lib/puppetlabs_spec_helper/rake_tasks.rb
+++ b/lib/puppetlabs_spec_helper/rake_tasks.rb
@@ -323,7 +323,9 @@
 
   desc 'Fails if directories contain the files specified in .gitignore'
   task :git_ignore do
-    matched = `git ls-files --ignored --exclude-standard`
+    matched = `git ls-files --ignored --exclude-standard --cached`
+    raise 'git ls-files failed' unless $CHILD_STATUS.success?
+
     unless matched == ''
       puts matched
       raise 'File specified in .gitignore has been committed'