April 24, 2016
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour investigators found C and D’s Guest Homes [in California] in violation of overtime, minimum wage and record-keeping provisions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employees received overtime pay only after working 80 hours in a two-week pay period rather than after the 40-hour weekly threshold. The employer also paid a differential to employees working a split shift, and did not include the differential when computing the worker’s overtime rate. Additionally, the firm deducted eight hours of sleep time from 24 hours shifts regardless of repeated interruptions throughout the night, resulting in employees earning less than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Resolution: C and D’s Guest Homes will pay 31 workers $43,582 in back wages. The employer will install a timekeeping system for employees to record their worked hours.
Quote: “This industry employs some of the most vulnerable, low-wage workers we see, working in a field plagued by labor violations,” said Richard Newton, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Sacramento District Office. “The division continues to fight this disturbing wage violation trend in residential care facilities, which harms not only workers and their families, but creates a competitive disadvantage for those businesses that follow the law.”