Home Care Workers File Wage Suit in California

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) filed suit against San Miguel Homes for the Elderly LLC, which operated residential care facilities for the elderly in California, for violating the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). DOL alleges that San Miguel Homes paid home care workers a flat day rate that failed to account for all compensable overtime hours those employees may have worked. Additionally, San Miguel Homes allegedly failed to keep any timekeeping records of employees’ work hours, and that employees routinely worked more than 40 hours a week but were not paid overtime as required by FLSA.

Under FLSA, day rates are permissible as long as that rate covers the minimum wage and the employer pays all overtime obligations to the employee. If the employee is paid a day rate without regard to the number of hours worked in the day and receives no other form of compensation, the employee’s regular rate may be determined by totaling all payments received in the workweek and dividing that by the total number of hours worked. Once the regular rate is calculated, employers may then calculate overtime – one and one-half times the regular rate – for all hours worked in a workweek beyond forty hours.

Additionally, FLSA requires employers to keep records for each non-exempt employee. It must include certain identifying information about each employee and provide information about hours worked and wages earned. Records must be kept accurately and for a certain period of time defined by law. Payroll records must be preserved for at least three years, while time cards, piece work tickets, and time schedules must be kept for at least two years. Employers must also allow DOL to inspect these records and must keep them at the place of employment or in a central records office.

Dejban Law can provide you with seasoned counsel if you are seeking to obtain compensation for wages you have been deprived of. If you believe your employer has unlawfully withheld overtime pay, contact us now by email at info@dejbanlaw.com or by phone us at (818) 325-3820 for a free and confidential initial consultation.