Q: I AM a live-in employee at a residential care facility. I work six days a week and have one day off. I sleep in a room inside the facility together with another employee. I don’t eat breakfast but eat my lunch and dinner in the facility’s kitchen. I am paid a flat rate of $2,000 per month, but I am deducted $700 monthly for meal and lodging. Because of the increase in minimum wage, the employer said I will now be deducted $800 for meal and lodging. Is this legal?
A: Employers who require their employees to live at the place of employment, and occupy quarters owned or under the control of the employer, may charge for rent and food. However, the rent and food charges that employers impose on employees cannot be more than the maximum amounts mandated by law. Since the increase of the minimum wage to $10 per hour effective January 1, 2016, an employer may charge live-in employees the following new amounts for lodging:
Room occupied alone…………$47.03 per week
Room shared………………….. $38.82 per week
Apartment (single occupancy) – two-thirds (2/3) of the rental value but not more than………$564.81 per month
Apartment (couple) – two-thirds (2/3) of the rental value but not more than…..$835.49 per month
Lodging means living accommodations available to the employee for full-time occupancy. Lodging should be adequate, decent, and sanitary according to usual and customary standards. Employees cannot be required to share a bed.
The employer may also charge its live-in employees for the costs of meals taken at the facility. Beginning January 1, 2016, the charge for meals must not be more than the following amounts:
Breakfast …………………..………………. $3.62
Lunch ……………………..……………….. $4.97
Dinner ………………………..……………. $6.68
The maximum amount that an employer may charge for meals for the day is $15.27. A meal should be an adequate, well-balanced serving of a variety of wholesome, nutritious foods.
Meals evaluated, as part of the minimum wage, must be bona fide meals consistent with the employee’s work shift.
Note, however, that meals and lodging cannot be credited against the minimum wage without a voluntary written agreement between the employer and the employee. When credit for meals or lodging is used to meet part of the employer’s minimum wage obligation, the amounts so credited may not be more than the above amounts. The employee may agree to have these amounts deducted from the employee’s paycheck for each pay period. Such deduction must be entered in the pay stub issued to the employee. Employees should not be charged for meals they did not receive or for lodging they did not use.
In the question above, the employer plans to deduct $800 per month for meal and lodging. Assuming the employee signed a meal and lodging agreement with the employer, and since the employee occupies a room with another employee, the employee can be charged $38.82 per week for lodging. Considering there are 52 weeks in a year, the employee in the above scenario can be charged $168.22 per month for lodging.
As for meals, the employer can charge only for meals taken at the facility. Since the employee only eats lunch and dinner six days per week, the employee can be charged, at most, $11.65 per day or $69.90 per week for meals. In a 52-week year, that amounts to about $302.90 per month for meals.
Thus, the employer in the above scenario may charge the employee a total of $471.12 per month for both meals and lodging starting January 1, 2016. If the employer is deducting $800 (or even $700) per month for meals and lodging, it appears the employer may be overcharging.
Given the above scenario, a question might also arise about whether the employee is paid correctly for all hours worked. If the employee works more than 8 hours per day or more than 40 hours per week, but is paid only a “flat rate” without considering all hours worked, the employee may also be entitled to overtime pay. It would be smart for this employee to seek experienced legal help if they want to be paid correctly.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully recovered wages and other monetary relief for thousands of employees and consumers. He is named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.