Investigation Restores Back Wages for Maintenance Workers

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division into the owner of a San Jose, California luxury apartment complex led to the recovery of US$71,388 in back wages and liquidated damages for seven maintenance workers.

Miraido Village LLC, the owner and operator of the luxury apartment complex, denied maintenance workers overtime wages and failed to keep accurate records of employees’ earnings in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company failed to pay the workers the legally required overtime rate when they worked more than 40 hours in a workweek.

Investigators determined that although the employer knew of its legal obligation to pay overtime, it deliberately violated the law and continued to pay the overtime hours at an improper rate. On average, the workers labored more than 50 hours per week.

“Employers who shortchange workers hurt the very people on whom they depend. In this case, maintenance workers served the many needs of the complex’s tenants and the property,” said Wage and Hour District Director Susana Blanco. “The property’s owner chose to violate the law and has learned—as will others who willfully violate labor laws—that wage theft has very serious consequences.”