Bay Area Senior Care Facility Cited for Wage Theft

Daily City, CA- (WorkerscCmpensation.com) -The California Labor Commissioner's Office has cited a senior care facility in Daly City for wage theft. The Amore Retirement Living owes 48 employers over $631,000 in unpaid minim wages, contract wages, and overtime, according to the California Department of Industrial Labor Relations Office.

A spokesperson for the agency tells WorkersCompensation.com that the investigation was initially launched back in June 2018 by the Labor Commissioner's Office into the 53-bed Bay Area facility after receiving a complaint that the employer did not have workers' compensation insurance.  During the investigation, it was discovered that the retirement living facility did not have coverage for five years, and according to penalty assessment documents obtained by WorkersCompensation.com the facility's licensee, Krysella Trismeo Corporation was cited for $469,103 for failure to ensure employees with workers’ compensation benefits.

The investigation also uncovered various labor law violations against the facility. "This residential care facility required its workers to be available around the clock but didn't pay them a just day's wages,” California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su stated, in a press release. “In industries where employees are expected to work overtime or on-call, California law requires that they be paid for all hours worked. Anything less is wage theft."

The senior care facility was also cited for multiple wage theft actions that affected 48 workers. The wage citation attained by WorkersCompensation.com holds Trismeo Corporation as well as chief executive officer, Sheryll Miranda-Sunga, each jointly and severally liable for not providing overtime or meal breads for their workers who worked an average of 58 hours a week over a 28-month period, ending in October 2017. An audit performed on time and payroll records showed that 29 employees had been working split shifts without being paid the one-hour premium that's required to provide ‘round-the-clock care to the facility's residents.

Enforcement investigations include a payroll audit of the previous three years to determine minimum wage, overtime, and other labor law violations, and then the payments owed, and penalties due are calculated. Civil penalties that are collected are then transferred to the State's General Fund as required by law.

A citation was issued with fines totaling over $708,521, which includes civil penalties, and wage theft. After the investigation, it had been determined that Amore Retirement Living owed workers $623,871 in unpaid minimum wages and overtime, meal period and wage statement violations, liquidated damages, waiting time penalties and split shift premiums.

Also, the employer owes $7,766 for contract wages due to 40 of the employees.  This citation also includes $84,650 in civil penalties that are due to the state for overtime, minimum wage, meal period, split shift premium, and itemized wage statement violations.

"The employer has 15 days to pay the citation or to appeal,” an agency spokesperson told WorkersCompensation.com.” In this case, the employer has appealed the citations. The appeals board will notify all parties of a hearing and will go before an administrative law judge.”

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