A Fremont assisted living facility is on the hook for $137,000 in back wages and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor found it violated federal overtime rules.
Lincoln Retirement Villa knowingly shorted 20 workers out of their wages and failed to keep accurate payroll records as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to DOL officials.
“Lincoln Retirement Villa not only knowingly underpaid its employees, but the employer made it a systemic business practice,” said Francisco Ocampo, the department’s Wage and Hour Division district director.
Lincoln has paid $68,672 in back wages, $68,672 in damages and $8,330 in civil penalties “due to the willful nature of violations,” DOL officials said in a news release.
Lincoln’s violations are an example of “problems in the broader healthcare industry,” according to the DOL, which this fiscal year has completed more than 2,300 investigations and recovered nearly $38 million in back wages for 30,000 workers.
Representatives for Lincoln Retirement Villa did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Workers who think they might be owed wages can use the DOL’s search tool to find out.
The department holds such wages for three years while it tries to contact the impacted workers. If it can’t, the money goes to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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