SANTA ROSA— On September 17, 2018, Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su announced a settlement to recover more than $450,000 in wages, penalties and interest for 15 residential care workers who suffered overtime and other wage theft violations.

L’Chaim House agreed to make the payments after the Labor Commissioner’s Office sued to block the San Rafael based residential care business from transferring ownership of its real estate to evade penalties. A lien against the real estate will ensure the payments are made.

“Employers who steal wages from their workers will be held accountable, meaning we will not just investigate and cite those who break the law, we will use the tools we have been given to ensure workers get their money,” said Labor Commissioner Su. “In this case we were able to show that the transfers were intended to hide the assets and evade legal responsibility.”

The Labor Commissioner’s Office opened an investigation in December 2015 after workers at L’Chaim House’s two locations reported labor law violations. Investigators audited 36 months of the employer’s payroll records and found caregivers frequently worked more than 12 hours a day without overtime pay. Citations totaling $486,399 were issued in February 2016 for minimum wage, overtime, meal period and wage statement violations. L’Chaim House appealed the fines, which were upheld in both an administrative hearing and in a decision by the Sonoma County Superior Court on September 20, 2017.

“Department of Industrial Relations investigators are true heroes to workers who have, in some cases, gone years without being paid properly,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “These cases can be lengthy and complicated but the investigators persevere in the interest of the unpaid employees and the State of California.”

Shortly after the citations were issued, the owner of L’Chaim House placed its real estate in a trust to avoid legal liability for the wage citations. The Labor Commissioner filed a lawsuit on September 29, 2017 in Marin County for civil fraudulent transfer. As a result of the lawsuit, L’Chaim House agreed to pay more than $450,000 of the penalties and wages owed. L’Chaim House also committed to full compliance with employment and labor laws going forward as part of the settlement.

The 15 workers will receive settlement payments ranging from $49 to $77,807, with an average payout of $25,008 each. The settlement payment also included $74,900 in civil penalties payable to the state. In addition, part of the amount owed—$89,080 for meal period penalties—remains in dispute before an appellate court. If upheld, $77,430 of those penalties would also go to the workers with the remainder to the state.