SAN FRANCISCO—The Secretary of Labor alleges several California companies and their owners violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Thomas E. Perez filed a suit on Feb. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against California companies Razel & Ruztin LLC, doing business as Walnut Creek Willows; CADS LLC, doing business as Elizabeth Cortez Care Home, Samantha Care Home and New Haven Court; and I Care Ventures LLC, doing business as Rayzel's Villa; along with owners Razel Cortez and Elizabeth Palad, citing alleged unpaid wages.
Perez alleges that between Sept. 15, 2012 and Sept. 11, 2015 the defendants paid their caregivers wages less than the standard minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and did not pay one-and-one-half times the regular rate for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours per week. Perez alleges that the defendants classified their employees as independent contractors rather than regular employees.
The plaintiff asks that the defendants be held liable for the allegedly unpaid minimum wages and overtime compensation to their employees, and any other relief the court deems just and proper. Benjamin Botts of the U.S. Department of Labor in San Francisco represents the plaintiff.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case number 3:16-cv-00542-EDL