Attorney General Bonta Continues to Protect Workers’ Rights: Secures $10 Million Judgment Against Employers that Misclassified In-Home Care Workers

LOS ANGELES -California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a $10 million judgment and permanent injunction granted by the Los Angeles County Superior Court against Care Specialist HCS Inc., formerly doing business as TLC Home Care Services, and its former and current owner-operators, over the company and its operators' business practice of misclassifying in-home care workers as independent contractors instead of employees in direct violation of California's labor laws and Unfair Competition Law. The judgment, which was entered by the court after granting the Attorney General's summary adjudication motion, includes over $10 million in restitution and civil penalties and permanent injunctive relief barring Care Specialist HCS Inc., and its former and current owner-operators from improperly classifying employees as independent contractors in the future.

"Today's judgment brings long-overdue justice to hundreds of in-home care workers who were denied fair wages, benefits, and basic labor protections and who were also subjected to illegal no-poach agreements which restricted their mobility in the labor market," said Attorney General Bonta. "This is a clear message to employers in California: Misclassification is wage theft. If you cheat workers by misclassifying them, you will be held accountable."

The California Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in 2023 against Care Specialist HCS Inc., which has been operating in California since 2016 and has employed hundreds of care workers since then. Despite clear labor laws requiring that these workers be classified as employees and the company's own false representations to its clients that it did so, the company misclassified care workers for years; it continued to do so even after being acquired in 2022 by new owners who had been made aware of the Attorney General's position that these workers were being misclassified. This misclassification not only harmed workers but also has resulted in significant financial implications for the state, leading to the loss of considerable tax revenue. Today's judgment resolves the allegations stated above.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to defending workers' rights, workplace safety, and California's fair and competitive labor market. Through the Attorney General's office, including the Worker Rights and Fair Labor Section, Attorney General Bonta enforces California's laws to protect the welfare of California workers and legitimate businesses operating in the state from standing up for nurses, construction workers, and janitorial workers; to cracking down on no-poach agreements and worker misclassification; to standing up for federal workers amidst the Trump Administration's trampling of workers' rights and mass firing agenda.

A copy of the judgment and permanent injunction can be found here.