The United States Department of Labor (DOL) found that a San Jose assisted living provider operating three San Francisco Bay Area facilities intentionally denied 16 workers their overtime pay and recovered $211,000 in back wages and damages for the workers, a DOL press release said.

The owners of Pruneridge Enterprise Inc., Leilani F. Cortes and Geoffrey L. Cortes, deliberately failed to pay overtime to workers who went over the standard 40 hours for the week at Pruneridge Residential Care Home in Santa Clara at 3030 Pruneridge Ave. and 312 Nowell Drive, and in San Jose at 2575 Forest Ave., the DOL release said. 

Violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act included underpayment of six caregivers and payroll records that were not adequately maintained, the DOL said.

“Care industry workers are among our nation’s lowest paid workers, and our investigations too often find unscrupulous employers taking advantage of them and depriving them of their hard-earned wages,” The DOL Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco said in a press release on May 11. 

The affected workers averaged up to 50 hours of work per week, the DOL said. As a result of the investigation, $105,532 in unpaid wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages were recovered. Pruneridge Enterprise Inc. and its owners were also assessed $12,336 in civil money penalties due to the repeat and willful nature of the violations, the press release said.

Blanco said the division is committed to protecting workers' rights and holding accountable those who disregard these rights. In fiscal year 2022, the division recovered $14.9 million in back wages for over 22,000 healthcare industry workers nationwide, the press release said.