SAN FRANCISCO — One of the largest landlords in The City, which is
already facing a slew of lawsuits for allegedly withholding tenants’
deposits, is the subject of a new class-action lawsuit — this one
related to labor laws.
The
housing empire of more than 7,000 apartments — controlled until last
year by CitiApartments, the Lembi Group, Skyline Realty and associated
companies — has been hit hard by the real estate slump and dour credit
market.
Lenders have foreclosed upon, or are in foreclosure
proceedings for, more than one-quarter of the 307 buildings previously
owned by the group.
As CitiApartments and the related companies
have run into financial problems, former tenants have alleged in
individual lawsuits and a class-action suit that security deposits and
payments offered to vacate rent-controlled units are being withheld.
Now,
a handful of former property managers for the companies has alleged in
a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court that payments
for their work violated California and San Francisco labor laws.
The
property managers were paid for their work through free or discounted
rents, according to the lawsuit. If their work exceeded a certain
number of hours in a two-week period, the managers were paid an
additional hourly rate.
Plaintiff Connor Casey, for example, was
hired to spend up to 28 hours per month managing a 16-unit building on
Jones Street in exchange for free use of an apartment worth $1,025
monthly. Additional work was paid at a rate of $10 per hour, under the
agreement.
Although the property managers agreed to the
arrangements, they are now suing the group of companies because the
remuneration arrangements allegedly violated state and city labor laws.
“The
law places the burden on the employer to enter into lawful agreements,”
said attorney Scott Weaver, who is representing the plaintiffs.
Weaver said various laws place restrictions on the use of rent as payment for work.
The
class-action lawsuit will likely go to mediation hearings, according to
CitiApartments attorney Ed Singer, who said he has not yet been served
with a copy of the lawsuit.
Singer said the company believes
that it was complying with labor laws, but there might be some
“record-keeping issues” with property managers who worked more than 48
hours per month.
“It’s going to be one of those ‘he said, she said’ record-keeping issues, I think,” Singer said.
Legal action
Former
property managers have filed a class-action lawsuit against S.F.-based
CitiApartments and related companies, alleging labor violations
connected with minimum-wage laws. According to their lawsuit:
* Property managers were paid for their work through free or discounted rents.
* If their work exceeded a certain number of hours in a two-week period, the managers were paid an additional hourly rate.
* The payment arrangements allegedly violated state and city labor laws.
* Various laws place restrictions on the use of rent as payment for work.
FAIR
USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an
effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in
California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such
copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S.
Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for
purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.