“A caregiver’s job is not an easy one. Hurting these hardworking individuals by misclassifying their positions and not providing proper pay is harmful to the employee, their families, and our communities.”
CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
LOS ANGELES – On February 20, 2025, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office (LCO) announced that it has cited Amity In-Home Care Services more than $2.3 million for misclassifying caregivers as independent contractors.
The LCO, which operates under the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), issued the citations under Labor Code Section 181 as established by Assembly Bill 594, making this the first enforcement action under the new law. Previously, the civil penalties collected from employers for these violations were solely payable to the state. Now, the state can collect these amounts as damages payable to affected misclassified workers.
“Misclassifying workers is not a simple paperwork error. It is a deliberate violation of the law that denies employees earned wages, protections, and benefits they are legally owed and entitled to. My office is committed to holding employers accountable and ensuring all workers, especially caregivers, receive the pay they deserve,” said California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower.
The LCO also uncovered additional serious violations, including failing to properly pay workers overtime wages, not providing required workers’ compensation insurance, and neglecting to give misclassified workers proper wage statements.
The violations came to light after the LCO received a referral of suspected worker misclassification from Bet Tzedek Legal Services in April 2023. In response, an inspection was conducted at Amity In-Home Care Services, which resulted in an immediate Stop Order Penalty Assessment due to the company’s failure to provide workers’ compensation insurance for its employees.
The LCO found that Amity In-Home Care Services, Inc. violated multiple labor laws, resulting in:
- $422,033 in unpaid minimum wages*
- $424,809 in unpaid overtime wages*
- $165,162 in meal and rest period premiums*
- $27,400 in wage statement penalties
- $108,094 in waiting time penalties for delayed final wages
- $550,000 in penalties for willful worker misclassification
- $81,673 in penalties for no workers’ compensation insurance for the misclassified employees
- $422,033 in liquidated damages
- $18,950 for other civil penalties
*Includes interest payable to the misclassified employees
The total amount cited was $2,327,257, which includes interest and additional penalties, with $2,203,384 payable to the misclassified workers.
Wage theft occurs when employers fail to pay workers for all hours worked, including overtime and required breaks, as mandated by California labor laws. A common form of wage theft is misclassification, in which employees are wrongly designated as independent contractors. This practice strips workers of essential protections including workers’ compensation, family leave, and unemployment benefits.
Under California law, misclassification is illegal, and workers are protected from employer retaliation when reporting violations.
