Calif. Care Facility Must Pay Workers $176K in Back Wages

A U.S. Labor Department investigation revealed that the owners of three California residential care facilities denied minimum wage and overtime to live-in employees. The labor department has required that the owners of Serene Care of Pleasanton, Calif.  pay their workers $176,000 in back wages.

The department found that Serene paid employees a flat rate for a 40 hour work week but the paychecks did not reflect the amount of hours actually worked. According to the department findings, Serene paid workers an average of $6.71 per hour, while the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

The owner of the residential care homes that cater to the needs of seniors and the disabled claims that the family business offers room and board to their caregivers and does not require them to work more than five days a week, unless it’s an emergency. However, the Labor Department found that employees were often asked to work 10-14 hour days, six days a week.

The investigation also discovered that some Serene employees were required to stay on-site overnight and were not provided a place to sleep other than the floor.

This latest finding is part of an ongoing investigation by the Wage and Hour Division that has ordered Bay Area care facilities and nursing homes to pay more than $6.8 million in back wages to more than 1,300 employees since 2011. 

The Labor Department found that many of Serene’s employees are recent immigrants who did not know they should receive minimum wage or overtime. California’s minimum wage is currently $9 per hour, and is set to increase to $10 by January 2016.

California Labor Laws

California employers are required to follow strict wage and hour laws that are in place to try to protect workers from overwhelming workloads. California break laws require that employees are given a 30-minute, duty free lunch break after five hours of labor. If this lunch break is missed, the employer must pay a worker one hour of pay at the regular hourly rate. Employees can claim back pay within three years.

California wage and hour laws also require employers to give 10-minute breaks to their employees for every four hours of work. If this rest break is missed, an employer must pay their worker for one hour of pay at the regular hourly rate within a paycheck cycle.

According to CA break laws, a rest or meal break means an employee is relieved of all duties for the designated amount of time. If this is not possible, a written agreement between employer and employee must be documented and the employee must be financially compensated.

Wage Theft Lawsuits

Numerous companies are under investigation for wage and hour violations. Wage theft lawsuits are often filed by plaintiffs who claim their employer is in violation of one or more of the following labor law violations:

• Unpaid overtime
• Off the clock work
• Tip pooling
• Unpaid wages

Under California law, employees have up to three years to claim unpaid wages. Contact a wage and hour attorney to find out if you have legal claim.

Join a Free California Overtime, Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay in California within the past 2 to 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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