US Department of Labor recovers $176K in back wages after investigation finds employer illegally shortchanged nine Bay Area health care workers

UNION CITY, CA – A federal investigation has recovered $176,193 in back wages for nine health care workers after the owner of four Bay Area residential care homes denied them overtime pay.

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined AS&P Corp. LLC – doing business as Bordon Homes – illegally placed a cap on overtime at 16 hours per pay period and paid any overtime beyond 16 hours at straight time rates, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer also failed to properly maintain employee records, leading to recordkeeping and additional overtime violations.

The investigation led to the recovery of $176,193 in back wages. The employer was also assessed $6,534 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations. This is not the first time Bordon Homes has been found in violation of the FLSA: the company paid $70,373 in back wages and liquidated damages to nine employees in 2016 following a federal investigation that found multiple FLSA violations.

“The health care industry is among the fastest growing sectors of our economy and care workers continue to face adversity. The Department of Labor is committed to protecting the rights of all workers, especially the most vulnerable,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “Employers who wish to remain competitive in the employment marketplace should use the many tools the department provides to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

Since 2017, the Wage and Hour Division has completed more than 5,000 investigations of nursing care facilities, home health facilities, and child day care facilities. These investigations recovered more than $200 million dollars in back wages for employees.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.