Source: https://www.strausslawyers.com/practice-areas/wage-claims/resident-apartment-managers/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 05:48:20+00:00

Document:
Resident apartment managers often have good wage claims.
Below are some of the frequently asked questions about resident apartment manager wage claims.
If you cannot find what you are looking for below, try these posts we wrote about resident apartment manager wage claims: 1) Rent Credits for Resident Apartment Managers; 2) Top 5 Ingredients of a Good Resident Manager Wage Claim.
If I am a resident apartment manager in California, what obligations does the property owner or management company have to pay me?
California law requires owners of apartment complexes that have more than 16 units to employ a “resident apartment manager” living onsite to oversee the property. Many of these resident apartment managers are entitled to bring wage claims against the property owners or management companies that employ them because these resident apartment managers are not being paid minimum wage. If the resident apartment manager has been paid less than minimum wage for the last four years, they may be entitled to tens of thousands of dollars and in some cases more than $100,000.00.
How are the minimum wage laws enforced for the benefit of resident apartment managers?
Resident apartment managers and live-in maintenance personnel must be paid in accordance with minimum wage laws. As of January 1, 2008 the minimum wage in California was raised to $8.00. This entitles Resident Apartment Managers to be paid at least $8.00 for every hour worked.
California case law has held that “suffer or permit,” means all work that the employer knew or should have known about; in fact, the Supreme Court even included “work such as unauthorized overtime, which the employer has not requested or required.” (Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., (2000) 995 P. 2d 139. ) However, be aware that work that is purposely hidden from the employer or done in secret by an employee who hopes to later demand payment will not be compensable.
The hourly minimum wage is interpreted to mean that an employee cannot work for less money even if he or she has already agreed to do so. Even if the employee has signed a contract with the employer that calls for the employee to be paid less than minimum wage, the employer will be required to pay the full minimum wage in addition to penalties. (Cal. Lab. Code § 1194(a).) Any such agreement or contract which requires the employee to work for less than minimum wage is void and cannot be enforced against the worker. The employer is in violation of the Labor Code.
When are resident apartment managers entitled to overtime premium pay at “Time And A Half” or “Double-Time”?
Exemptions to the overtime requirements are interpreted narrowly to protect employees. (See Ramirez v. Yosemite Water Company, Inc. (1999) 20 Cal.4th 785, 794.) Typically, resident apartment managers are not exempt from being paid overtime premiums.
As stated above, Labor Code 1194(a) protects a non-exempt employee from being bound by an agreement to waive their right to overtime premiums.
If I have been paid a salary, how do I determine if it meets minimum wage requirements?
Despite the fact that resident apartment managers are generally entitled to overtime premiums, most property owners or management companies attempt to pay their resident apartment managers a flat rate salary (if they pay at all). Paying resident apartment managers a salary often results in the employee being paid less than the law requires.
Resident apartment managers who are paid on salary can quickly determine their hourly rate (up to 40 hours per week, the rest must be calculated at the overtime rates) by dividing their monthly salary by 4.3 x (hours worked) to determine their hourly salary. If your hourly salary is less than $8.00 per hour, you should contact an employment attorney.
What records do I need to prove how many hours I’ve worked?
Therefore, resident apartment managers should keep an accurate record of their hours worked. If a disagreement as to the number of hours worked arises, the employee may use their notes and records to reconstruct their hours by means of a “just and reasonable” inference. The more evidence you have of hours worked, the better positioned you will be to recover under minimum wage and overtime laws. The most effective way for resident apartment managers to document their activities is to keep a daily log of duties performed and the time it took to perform them.
When can a resident apartment manager’s free rent or reduced rate rent be factored into their compensation?
In most cases, property owners attempt to pay their resident apartment managers for the work that they do with free or reduced rent. In order to exchange living accommodations for work, the property owner most meet specific requirements. A resident apartment manager or live-in maintenance person’s apartment may only be considered part of the compensation package when certain disclosures are made. There is a strong public policy against taking advantage of an employee in regards to living arrangement.
If the agreement fails to meet any of these conditions the property owner will not be permitted to credit any of the of value rent against their minimum wage obligations to the apartment manager. Another way to put this is that the resident apartment manager will have been essentially entitled to live in the apartment for free during the duration of the defective agreement, and in addition will be entitled to collect minimum wages for every hour of work performed during the previous 4 years.
If the agreement is valid, and the single resident apartment manager has worked more than 56.5 hours in a month (14 hours per week), or in the case of a couple the couple has collectively worked 83.5 hours (21 hours per week), the employee must be paid at least minimum wage for each hour worked in excess of that amount.
If I have not been paid properly by the property owner what might I be owed in addition to my unpaid wages?
Employees in California must be paid at least minimum wage. If you have been paid less than minimum wage, then your employer has violated minimum wage laws. Under Labor Code section 1194.2, you may make a claim for an amount equal to the wages unlawfully unpaid and any interest thereon.
California Labor Code section 203 provides that if an employer willfully fails to pay “without abatement or reduction, in accordance with § 201, 201.5, and 202, any wages of any employee who is discharged or who quits, the wages of such employees shall continue as a penalty for the due date thereof at the same rate until paid or until an action therefore is commenced, such wages shall not continue for more than 30 days.” (Cal. Lab. Code § 203.) You may be entitled to 30 days wages as a consequence of not having been timely paid.
Workers must be given a pay stub with their pay check, but resident apartment managers often do not receive a pay stub. California Labor Code section 226 requires a California employer to include very specific information on an employee’s paycheck stub. The required information includes the total number of overtime hours worked, the correct rates of pay, and the legal name of the employer. (Cal. Lab. Code § 226(a).) The failure to comply with section 226 can result in penalties of $50 for the first pay period and $100 for each subsequent pay period per person in which the violation occurred over the course of a year. (Cal. Lab. Code § 226(e).) It can also lead to significant liability for the employer under California Labor Code section 226.3, which would impose severe civil penalties up to $1,000 per individual for each pay period in which there is a violation of section 226(a).
An employer has an obligation to reimburse an employee for all necessary work expenses he or she incurs. (Lab. Code § 2802.) It is frequently the case that resident apartment managers incur expenses related to purchasing maintenance materials, driving their vehicle to deposit rent at the bank on behalf of the property owner, and the cost of keeping a phone that is used for company business. Resident apartment managers are often not fully reimbursed for these business expenses to the extent required by law and can bring an action against their employers to recover them.
The landlord may be liable for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.

References: v. 
 § 1194
 v. 
 § 201
 § 203
 § 226
 § 226
 § 2802