Department of Labor recovers $47K in back wages, damages for 10 home care workers after Union City employer once again failed to pay overtime

Employer:      San Jose Care Homes for the Elderly LLC

                        32262 Crest Lane 

Union City, CA 94587

Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the home care company in Union City again denied workers their full pay intentionally by depriving them of the overtime pay they earned, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation.

In 2016, the department found San Jose Care Homes for the Elderly used a similar scheme after a federal investigation and litigation required the employer to pay $425,000 in wages and damages to 26 employees.

More recently, investigators determined that the employer, which operates two Union City locations, knew the legal overtime pay requirements chose again to violate the law and pay workers the overtime hours worked at straight-time rates. The employer paid the first 80 hours per pay period at the correct rate and on payroll, and paid overtime hours worked at regular rates with a personal check or in cash.

Back Wages Recovered:       $23,579 in unpaid overtime wages for 10 employees

$23,579 in damages for 10 employees

                                                $8,310 in civil money penalties

Quote: “This case clearly shows we will hold employers accountable when they try to steal from the people who allow their businesses to flourish,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “Those who willfully and repeatedly steal from their workers can face litigation and the possibility of losing their businesses.” 

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Employers and workers can call division staff confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new, free Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to help track work hours and pay.