California employment attorneys, Keller Grover LLP and the Law Office of Scot D. Bernstein, A Professional Corporation, secured a $500,000 settlement on behalf of HCR ManorCare workers that were members of the class who received inadequate wage statements and paid check cashing fees in order to cash their paychecks. HCR ManorCare was accused of violating California Labor Code sections 212 and 216(a) and 2699, as well as the Business & Professions Code sections 17200, et seq.
Eric A. Grover, Esq. and Jade Butman, Esq. of Keller Grover LLP, and Scot Bernstein of the Law Office of Scot D. Bernstein, A Professional Corporation, filed the class-action employment lawsuit on July 9, 2009 against HCR ManorCare Health Services of Florida LLC and Heartland Employment Services LLC for violating the California labor laws. The plaintiffs’ attorneys challenged HCR ManorCare’s practices to ensure that these hard-working employees could retain their earnings, rather than sharing them with a bank or third-party check cashing service in a the form of a check-cashing fee.According to court filings, HCR ManorCare employees were given “inadequate wage statements and paid check cashing fees in order to cash their paychecks,” both in direct violation of California labor laws.
It is illegal for an employer to give employees paychecks that are issued by an out-of-state bank without supplying a California location where they can cash their hard-earned paycheck without incurring a discount or fee. The lawsuit sought damages, restitution for check cashing fees, statutory penalties, injunctive relief, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. Although HCR ManorCare continued to deny every factual allegation asserted in the class action lawsuit, Keller Grover was able to reach an outstanding result for the employees whose rights were alleged to have been violated.As part of the settlement the defendants did not have to admit to any liability or wrongdoing. From July to December 2009, both parties negotiated settlement agreements and ultimately agreed on a $500,000 settlement to be paid by the defendants. As part of the settlement, $45,000 was paid to the State of California’s Labor & Workforce Department Agency (LWDA) for education and enforcement purposes.