Santa Clara County has filed a lawsuit against a Milpitas home care business for wage theft and unlawful business practices.
County Counsel Tony LoPresti submitted an Oct. 31 complaint against Happy Trip Home Care and its owners for operating without a license, not providing breaks to workers and failing to pay minimum wage and overtime, among other violations. This is the second wage theft lawsuit filed by the county this year, after suing five T-Mobile stores in East San Jose for exploiting workers in May.
The California Labor Commissioner’s Office gave the county a $750,000 grant earlier this year to fund some of this work.
“The message that we are sending with this lawsuit is clear and it is simple,” LoPresti said at a Wednesday news conference. “(People) who seek to profit by violating the law and exploiting vulnerable immigrant workers, we will be sure that they face their day in court.”
LoPresti said the business required its in-home care workers to be on the clock 24/7 and paid them between $4.17 and $10.42 an hour. Caretakers provide assistance with daily living, including help with medications, showering, eating or using the restroom. Meanwhile, the business charged its clients receiving care about $300 to $500 a day, according to the county.
In at least one instance, the owners allegedly took possession of a worker’s passport and bank account information and made transactions without her consent.
Santa Clara County is seeking restitution for the unpaid wages and identity theft, as well as an injunction to stop these illegal activities. In addition, the county has filed restraining orders against two of the owners for elder abuse in separate lawsuits. District 2 Supervisor Betty Duong said many workers in the home care industry are immigrants who are vulnerable to exploitation.
“No one should ever have to experience that kind of abuse, especially for someone they trust as an employee,” Duong said. “That’s why it’s so important for the county to take a stand by enforcing the law and holding bad actors accountable.”
A 2021 Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition study revealed 1,628 wage theft cases in the county’s residential care industry, affecting 3,474 employees. Caregivers have lost more than $15 million in unpaid wages, the study said.
In the past year, more than 80 residential care workers called the Santa Clara County Office of Labor Standards Enforcement advice line to seek help regarding potential wage theft, harassment, discrimination and more, according to data provided by the office.
Ruth Silver Taube, supervising attorney of the Workers’ Rights Clinic at the Santa Clara University School of Law, said the county’s lawsuit is important because wage theft in care homes has often not been enforced by the state.
“The exploiters know that there’s little enforcement, and so consequently, we need counties and public prosecutors to speak up to enforce these laws,” Silver Taube told San José Spotlight.
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.