Almost 150 senior living caregivers in California will split a $5.5 million settlement, the state’s highest verdict in a pay fraud lawsuit involving a residential care facility.
The settlement includes a $2 million award released by the California labor commissioner’s office on December 6, bringing the total compensation to Adat Shalom Board & Care caregivers to $5.5 million. Adat Shalom had six assisted living residences in West Hills, California, and offered dementia and Parkinson’s disease treatment, as well as hospice care.
According to the labor commissioner, a seven-year inquiry into the corporation discovered that from July 2014 to July 2017, live-in workers at Adat Shalom’s facilities were paid less than the minimum wage, were refused overtime, and were not given meal or rest breaks.
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According to the state, personnel cared for older adult residents 24 hours a day, six days a week, but were only compensated for six hours.
In addition, the firm allegedly omitted pay rates and hours performed from pay stubs.
After receiving a report of labor law breaches from the Pilipino Workers Center. This nonprofit, community-based group works for low-wage workers, particularly residential care workers, the state launched an inquiry in 2017.
In 2018, the California labor commissioner’s office issued $7 million in citations to the company and its owner, Angelica Reingold, including $2.3 million for underpayment of minimum wages, $1.9 million for unpaid overtime wages, $128,000 for meal period violations, and $2.7 million for liquidated damages.
The state also imposed civil fines of $175,000 for failure to pay overtime and minimum wages.
The California Department of Industrial Relations upheld the citations in October 2021 with modifications, including an increase in overtime and meal break premiums and a decrease in minimum wages owed, despite Reingold’s appeal. Later, the labor commissioner’s office initiated legal proceedings to overturn the asset transfer, which ultimately led to the settlement of $5.5 million.
“The employer attempted to evade liability by concealing assets while paying these caregivers less than $3 per hour for years,” Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia-Brower said in a statement. The employer was sued by our team to halt the unauthorized transfer of assets.
Additionally, the settlement stipulates that Reingold and Adat Shalom shall cease all residential care enterprise operations within California.