On June 12, 2024, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office announced that it reached a $658,948 settlement with a Los Angeles residential care facility for failure to pay employees for all hours worked. The settlement will provide owed wages and damages to the 34 employees who were forced to work through required meal and rest breaks, denied payment for all hours worked (including overtime hours), and barred from leaving work.
The settlement will result in $608,948 being paid to the employees for owed wages, including overtime pay; penalties for meal and rest break violations and waiting-time penalties; wage statement violations; and liquidated damages. The remaining $50,000 of the settlement will be paid to the state of California for civil penalties.
The investigation into the wage violations began in 2023 when the Labor Commissioner’s Office received reports that employees were being denied owed wages and, in some instances, were required to work up to 24 hours a day and seven days a week. During the investigation, it was revealed that as many as 34 employees who worked at the facility between May 25, 2020, and August 10, 2023, were denied owed wages and the penalties implicated for failure to pay those wages.
This is another important reminder that California has very specific wage and hour requirements that, if not followed, can result in owed wages and penalties to employees and civil penalties to the state. Employers Council can assist you with navigating the numerous wage and hour requirements, as well as wage statement compliance for California employees. Please contact us at CAinfo@employerscouncil.org.
Mary Miller is an attorney for Employers Council.