SACRAMENTO, CA – A recent series of U.S. Department of Labor investigations shows a substantial increase in the number of care industry employers in California who are exploiting workers by underpaying them deliberately in violation of federal regulations.These recently completed investigations recovered a combined $735,762 in back wages and damages from five care industry employers whose illegal pay practices deprived 173 workers’ rights to be paid their full-earned wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. “The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to enforce the law and hold unscrupulous employers in the care industry fully accountable for their illegal employment practices,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento, California. “We urge workers who believe they are being denied their legal wages to contact us without fear or hesitation and encourage law-abiding industry employers to denounce competitors who exploit people who provide critically needed care to those in need.”Specifically, investigators successfully recovered wages in the following cases: Community Anchor Services Inc., a Carmichael home care employer, denied overtime pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. The division recovered a combined $252,578 in back wages and damages for 103 employees and assessed $32,343 in penalties.Nankil Enterprises Inc., operator of five Bakersfield adult residential care facilities, did not pay overtime wages to workers. In addition to recovering a total of $245,285 in back wages and damages for 39 workers, the division assessed $19,159 in civil money penalties.Opoku Residential Care Inc. failed to pay workers at four adult care facilities in Fresno their required overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek. The investigation recovered a combined $113,507 in back wages and damages for 20 employees. The division also assessed $9,163 in penalties.C. Seisa House, an Auburn residential care facility for people with disabilities, did not pay required overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division recovered a total of $63,974 in wages and damages for two workers and assessed $686 in penalties.Nora Serrano, a residential care employer for adults with developmental disabilities - operator of Casa de Amor and its three locations in Oroville doing business as Casa de Amor, Highlands View Care Home and Pineville Care Home - failed to combine all hours worked by employees at different facilities, resulting in violations of overtime pay requirements. The division recovered a total of $60,418 in back wages and damages for nine employees and assessed $6,174 in penalties.These investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in California are part of a wide and ongoing effort to hold violators accountable, raise awareness and prevent violations. To assist employers, the division offers many compliance assistance resources to ensure lawful employment practices.In the broader healthcare industry, the department’s Wage and Hour Division conducted more than 2,300 investigations and recovered more than $37.8 million in back wages for nearly 30,000 workers nationwide in fiscal year 2024. The division also assessed employers with more than $2.8 million in penalties for violations of federal labor regulations.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 and how to file a complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, workers and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.Download the division’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.