U.S. Department of Labor seal
U.S. Department of Labor seal

An operator of three assisted living homes in California has paid $194,275 in back wages to 13 caregivers and cooks to resolve Fair Labor Standards Act violations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The company also paid criminal penalties to state agencies for violations related to reporting.

According to the department, Wage and Hour Division investigators found that Laura and Carole Nobis, the owners of Nobis Care Homes in South San Francisco, San Francisco and San Bruno, CA, did not pay employees for hours they worked beyond 40 in a work week. The employees reportedly regularly worked an average of 60 hours per week, but payroll records showed that workers were paid only for 40 hours.

The FLSA requires that employees receive one-and-a-half times their regular rates of pay when they work more than 40 hours in a work week and that employers maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages and work hours.

The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office opened a separate criminal investigation of Nobis Care Homes for worker’s compensation fraud associated with the company’s failure to accurately report the number of employees working, according to the Labor Department. That criminal case resulted in Nobis paying additional penalties to the California Employment Development Department and other state agencies.