U.S. Department of Labor issued the following announcement on Oct. 17.
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent judgment resulting in two Orange County, California, residential care home operators paying $1,100,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 66 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The final employee payments resolve a lawsuit related to working conditions at California care homes in Lake Forest and Mission Viejo, owned and operated by Lilibeth Ortiz and her husband Geraldo Ortiz. In addition to the couple, the suit included their businesses, namely Nuzon Corp., Margaret’s Villa Inc., Fil-Lyd Investments LLC and JuanJo Investments.
WHD investigators found the employer required employees to tend to clients with developmental disabilities at all hours of the day and night, resulting in employees working more than 87 hours per week. These long hours, combined with the employers’ practice of paying their employees a flat daily rate, resulted in employees receiving pay as low as $4 per hour for all the hours that they worked, a violation of FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime provisions.
Additionally, Lilibeth Ortiz and Geraldo Ortiz violated the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provisions during litigation. In one instance, shortly after settlement talks broke down, the defendants notified their live-in employees of pending eviction and later rescinded the notices after the Department responded promptly. In another instance, the defendants and their attorneys coerced employees into signing false or misleading statements about their working conditions. Evidence showed that Lilibeth Ortiz confronted employees individually to ensure that they would meet with her attorneys to help with her defense.
“Ensuring that workers receive all of the wages they have legally earned is a priority,” said Wage and Hour Administrator Cheryl Stanton. “The resolution of this case demonstrates our commitment to protecting workers, particularly in cases that involve retaliation or intimidation, and to leveling the playing field for employers who play by the rules.”
“In addition to subjecting employees to oppressive working conditions, the defendants attempted to silence workers and prevent them from exercising their rights,” said Regional Solicitor Janet Herold, in Los Angeles, California. “Enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act relies on brave employees who come forward. Thankfully, they did, notwithstanding the defendants’ concerted efforts at intimidation.”
The judgment orders Lilibeth Ortiz and Geraldo Ortiz to take specific, affirmative steps to ensure FLSA compliance. The judgment requires the defendants to ensure accurate recording of the hours worked, with a time-clock system rather than handwritten timecards used previously. The defendants must also give employees notice of their rights under the FLSA in English and in Tagalog.
Original source can be found here.