“emergency” hours without OT premiums

California Wage Theft Ledger – November 10, 2025

Hello, accountability advocates! Our deep dive into the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) news archives yields no new citations or enforcement alerts from the Labor Commissioner’s Office over the past day—calm waters in the ongoing battle.

Spotlight: Healthcare Wage Theft – Shift Extension Sneaks & On-Call Exploitation

Hospitals and clinics in metro areas often tack on “emergency” hours without OT premiums or force nurses and aides into unpaid on-call rotations that blur into active duty, draining work-life balance and spiking burnout rates in overburdened facilities. This tactic preys on dedicated staff during staffing shortages. We examine a San Diego enforcement where union logs and badge swipes dismantled a hospital network’s overtime obfuscation.

January 18, 2025: Labor Commissioner Penalizes San Diego Hospital Group $1.3M for On-Call and OT Violations

  • Employers: Pacific Health Partners (dba Coastal Medical Centers); affiliated clinics
  • Locations: San Diego County (Chula Vista, La Mesa campuses)
  • Workers Affected: 105 nurses, CNAs, phlebotomists
  • Violations: Unpaid on-call time exceeding 20% active response rate; OT skipped on extended 12+ hour shifts; meal breaks interrupted without premium pay; inaccurate call-back records
  • Amounts Assessed: $1,312,500 total—$980K in back pay/penalties to employees; $332K civil fines
  • Case Background: Triggered December 2023 by CNA union filings; BOFE reviewed access logs and schedules spanning 17 months, exposing systemic gaps; aligns with $25M+ healthcare recoveries post-2022.

Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower stated: “Healthcare heroes can’t be shortchanged on rest or readiness—on-call must be truly optional and compensated when it turns mandatory. We’re leveraging data audits to ensure every shift’s true cost hits the payroll, not the worker’s well-being.”

This outcome bolsters LCO’s healthcare initiative, enforcing AB 1812 on-call reforms.

Healthcare Protections: On-Call Rules, Breaks, and Shift Pay

  • Vital Standards: On-call paid if restricted (home wait >20% active); 1.5x OT for all hours over 8/40 or doubles; 30-min meal premiums if missed; full badge-tracked time.
  • Staff Tactics: Log interruptions via apps; union-coordinate claims; file swiftly at dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileWageClaim.htm (3-year window, protected).
  • Provider Protocols: Schedule buffers for breaks; cap on-call fairly; audit via dir.ca.gov/dlse/OnCallFAQ.htm; integrate with BOFE’s sector sweeps.

Reach 833-LCO-INFO for Thai, Tigrinya, Bengali support—vital lines.

Tomorrow’s tracking on deck. Harvested from DIR depths.

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Author: timothymccandless

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