IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT MANAGER OF AN
APARTMENT COMPLEX IN CALIFORNIA, AND HAVE NOT BEEN PAID AT LEAST MINIMUM WAGE
FOR EVERY HOUR YOU HAVE WORKED DURING THE LAST FOUR (4) YEARS, THIS WEBSITE IS
FOR YOU
• California law is clear in requiring that resident apartment managers be
paid for every hour they work.
• Resident apartment managers are entitled to minimum wage for every hour
worked on the premises.
• Wage Order No. 5 of the Industrial Welfare Commission requires minimum wage
for each hour worked.
• A “free” apartment may not be used as a credit against the minimum wage
requirement without a voluntarily entered into written agreement which provides
for that credit.
• Even with a written agreement, voluntarily entered into, the Wage Order
limits the amount of “credit” against the minimum wage obligation which may be
taken.
• Failure to properly pay minimum wage to a resident manager will likely
subject the employer to “liquidated damages” equal to the amount of wages
improperly unpaid!
• If the employer has not kept legally required time records for the resident
manager employee, the burden of disproving the hours the resident manager claims
to have worked falls on the employer!
• The resident manager is also entitled to recover attorney’s fees for having
to pursue improperly withheld wages….even if their attorney was working on a
contingency basis!
• The Law Offices of Kenneth F. Moss can help you recover your unpaid wages
and liquidated damages, and even force the owner or management company to pay
your attorney’s fees!
Although California law is quite clear in setting forth the
manner in which resident apartment managers are to be compensated, apartment
owners and property management companies routinely fail to follow the law,
resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid or under-paid wages for
their apartment managers every year. We hope that the information on this
website will assist resident apartment managers in determining if they have been
or are being legally and properly compensated, and to determine if the Law
Offices of Kenneth F. Moss can be of assistance in recovering wages due, plus
liquidated damages, penalties, and attorney’s fees.
WE HAVE RECOVERED HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN IMPROPERLY WITHHELD WAGES FOR RESIDENT MANAGERS LIKE
YOU; AND WE DO IT WITHOUT OUR CLIENT’S PAYING US HOURLY FEES AS WE RECOVER THEIR
WAGES PLUS LIQUIDATED DAMAGES!
RESIDENT APARTMENT MANAGERS ARE ENTITLED TO MINIMUM WAGE
FOR EVERY HOUR WORKED ON THE PREMISES
The Labor Code of the State of California generally sets forth
the time and manner of paying wages to employees, minimum wage requirements, and
mandatory overtime pay. In addition to the provisions of the Labor Code, the
Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of California has published 18 “Wage
Orders” which further govern employment in the State of California. Those Wage
Orders cover specific industries and occupations, and there is even one general
minimum Wage Order that applies to all California employers and employees.
WAGE ORDER NO. 5 OF THE INDUSTRIAL WELFARE COMMISSION
REQUIRES MINIMUM WAGE FOR EACH HOUR WORKED.
One of those orders (Order #5) is an Order Regulating Wages,
Hours and Working Conditions in the Public Housekeeping Industry. Included in
the definition of “Public Housekeeping Industry” is “apartment houses.” Hence,
resident managers of apartment complexes in the State of California are governed
by that Order #5.
The Order requires that the then–existing minimum wage be paid
to a resident apartment manager for each and every hour worked by that manager.
(Specifically excluded from those hours for which the resident apartment manager
is entitled to be compensated are hours spent by the resident apartment manager
doing personal tasks, and not actually working on “assigned duties.”)
A “FREE” APARTMENT MAY NOT BE USED AS A CREDIT AGAINST THE
MINIMUM WAGE REQUIREMENT WITHOUT A VOLUNTARILY ENTERED INTO WRITTEN AGREEMENT
WHICH PROVIDES FOR THAT CREDIT.
The part of Order #5 which creates the most confusion and
consternation for apartment owners and property management companies is
paragraph #10 of the order, which prohibits taking a credit against the minimum
wage obligation due to the resident apartment manager without a voluntary
written agreement between the employer and the employee. This means that if the
resident apartment manager is given a “free” apartment in exchange for his or
her services, the owner or property management company must still pay the
resident apartment manager minimum wage for each and every hour worked on the
premises unless there is a written agreement, voluntarily entered into between
the resident apartment manager and the owner or property management company,
which specifically provides that a credit will be taken against the wages owed
for the value of the apartment.
In addition to the fact that the agreement must be voluntarily
entered into, it must also specifically and clearly state that a credit is being
taken against minimum wage owed to the resident apartment manager. If the
agreement does not meet these requirements, the owner or property management
company will not be permitted to take any credit for providing the “free”
apartment, and the resident apartment manager will be entitled to minimum wage
for every hour worked.
EVEN WITH A WRITTEN AGREEMENT, VOLUNTARILY ENTERED INTO,
THE WAGE ORDER LIMITS THE AMOUNT OF “CREDIT” AGAINST THE MINIMUM WAGE OBLIGATION
WHICH MAY BE TAKEN.
Further, if all of the above requirements are met in the
agreement, the owner or property management company is still only permitted to
take two-thirds of the ordinary rental value of the apartment, and not more than
between $381.20 and $451.89 per month for an individual resident apartment
manager, and $563.90 per month and $668.46 per month, if a couple is employed.
The maximum amount of the credit allowed prior to January 1, 2007 for an
individual was $381.20, $423.51 per month between January 1, 2007 and December
31, 2007, and $451.89 per month effective January 1, 2008. The maximum allowed
for couples similarly increased on January 1, 2007 from $563.90 to $626.49 per
month and then to $668.46 per month effective January 1, 2008.
FAILURE TO PROPERLY PAY MINIMUM WAGE TO A RESIDENT MANAGER
WILL LIKELY SUBJECT THE EMPLOYER TO “LIQUIDATED DAMAGES” EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF
WAGES IMPROPERLY UNPAID!
In addition to being entitled to minimum wage (currently $8 an
hour) for every hour worked, an employee who demonstrates that they were not
paid as required by law is entitled to recover what is known as “liquidated
damages.” That means that for every dollar that an employee is able to
demonstrate was illegally withheld from them, and should have been paid to them
as wages, that resident apartment manager employee is entitled to another dollar
because of the failure of their employer to pay them properly. The right to
wages and liquidated damages goes back three years, with the right to go back a
fourth year for wages only, without the additional liquidated damages.
IF THE EMPLOYER HAS NOT KEPT LEGALLY REQUIRED TIME RECORDS
FOR THE RESIDENT MANAGER EMPLOYEE, THE BURDEN OF DISPROVING THE HOURS THE
RESIDENT MANAGER CLAIMS TO HAVE WORKED FALLS ON THE EMPLOYER!
Wage Order #5 also requires that the apartment owner or
property management company maintain time records showing when the resident
apartment manager begins and ends each work period! That means that they must
develop a system for you as the resident apartment manager to report the number
of hours you work each and every day, week, or two-week period. Since it is not
only extremely rare, but extremely difficulty for the owner or property
management company to track the hours worked by the resident apartment manager,
this is rarely done. The result is that the resident apartment manager need only
produce sufficient evidence to show the number of hours they worked by what is
referred to as “a matter of just and reasonable inference.” That means that the
resident apartment manager may estimate the number of hours worked and will be
considered to have met the “burden of proof”. It is then up to the apartment
owner or property management company to disprove the hours that were worked.
That is a formidable task for someone who was not present on the premises and
has not kept the proper records of hours worked!
THE RESIDENT MANAGER IS ALSO ENTITLED TO RECOVER ATTORNEYS
FEES FOR HAVING TO PURSUE IMPROPERLY WITHHELD WAGES….EVEN IF THEIR ATTORNEY WAS
WORKING ON A CONTINGENCY BASIS!
In addition, Labor Code §1194(a) permits that any employee who is paid less than
the legal minimum wage (or legal overtime compensation) applicable to that
employee, is also entitled to recover interest on the amount owed, as well as
the attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing the action. The Law Offices of Kenneth
F. Moss handles this type of action on a “contingency fee” basis. That means
that the Law Office takes a percentage of the recovery at the end of the action,
so that the resident apartment manager who was not properly paid minimum wage
does not have to pay an hourly attorney’s fee to pursue those wages. We also
negotiate, in any settlement, for the attorney’s fees to be added on to the
wages and liquidated damages recovered, so that the burden of paying the
attorney’s fees is borne by the owner or property management company, rather
than the resident apartment manager, as the law requires.
THE LAW OFFICES OF KENNETH F. MOSS CAN HELP
YOU RECOVER YOUR UNPAID WAGES AND LIQUIDATED DAMAGES, AND EVEN FORCE THE OWNER
OR MANAGEMENT COMPANY TO PAY YOUR ATTORNEY’S FEES!
With thirty years of experience in representing clients in all
manner of litigation matters, the Law Offices of Kenneth F. Moss now focuses on
representing resident managers of apartment complexes throughout California to
recover improperly withheld wages. Whether you are currently employed as a
resident apartment manager, are looking for employment as a resident apartment
manager, or have, within the last four years, been employed as a resident
apartment manager, we can help you determine if you are owed unpaid wages, and
help you to recover those wages. Feel free to email or telephone us with any
questions you may have. We are here to help you.
Call for an appointment or Email us at the General
Information link below.
Contact Information
- Telephone
-
818-340-1414
- FAX
- 818-340-1561
- Postal address
-
20335 Ventura Blvd., Suite 430, Woodland Hills, California 91364
- Electronic mail
- General Information:
mossmgrlaw@aol.com
Webmaster:
mjlavert2001@yahoo.com
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- California State Bar No. 94185
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