ABC Channel 10 news recently released an article about the owners of two San Diego residential care homes for the elderly. The accusations of human trafficking, slavery, and withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars of wages sound horrific. Let’s strip away the flashy “scandal = $$$” trend in the media these days and discuss straight facts. Were the owners of the Rose Garden homes in Vista and Escondido trafficking or enslaving people?
A Little History
Don’t get us wrong, what the owners of the Rose Garden homes did is assuredly illegal. But parts of it haven’t always been. Less than fifteen years ago, it was actually considered harmlessly common.
Many older people require round the clock care. They need someone to be available to help them to the bathroom once in the middle of the night, so they don’t fall. They need someone to guard the door so they don’t get confused at night and try to wander off. Someone has to be available in case something awful happens. But, for the most part, the residents sleep. Often, the caregivers do, too.
Once upon a time, smaller, residential care homes used to offer their caregivers room and board in exchange for a lower hourly pay. Living on-site, they had fewer personal expenses. For example, they didn’t have to pay for expensive California rent. Caregivers did most of their work during the day and slept through most of the night. Home owners and caregivers alike used to consider this a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Several years ago, a law made it illegal.
This coincidentally made the cost of senior living skyrocket. Homes now had to hire 2-3 employees for every one they used to have, having none of them work beyond a standard shift. Any caregiver who worked overtime was now entitled to extra pay — regardless of how much of that time they spent sleeping.
The new law was absolutely a good thing for the protection of workers’ rights. It was too easy to exploit employees before, even if many care homes used the arrangement innocently.
What Rose Garden Owners Did
When you compare California minimum wage plus overtime rates for a worker who was on-site 24/7 to a pre-negotiated salary at a discounted rate in exchange for including room and board, it’s easy to see how a couple years of employment could add up to a technically-true “$175,000 in unpaid wages.” Legally, they owed the employee that much, whether the employee agreed to a lower wage or not.
Did the employees have to work 24 hours a day? Nope. They had to be available 24 hours a day but likely slept most of the night. Which is still illegal.
Did the employees have to “cook, clean, feed, bathe, and change the diapers of the patients”? That’s the standard definition of a caregiver. The news report could only have added that information for the shock factor. However, their next claims raise red flags significantly higher. The employee was “required to administer medication to patients as well as give patients insulin injections, even though [they] did not possess certifications or training.” That probably depends on their definition of “administer.” Many medications can be distributed without any certification if simply following the instructions on the prescription. Medications that require administration, usually also require certification. That a home would ask an uncertified employee to do so is frightening.
We cannot speak to the more personal accusations of promising to pay immigration attorneys or sharing a room with residents.
The Verdict
Were the owners of the Rose Garden homes in Vista and Escondido involved in trafficking? We can say one thing with absolute certainty. What they did was illegal — hands down.
Honestly, this is proof of how beneficial it is to have a local team by your side when searching for a senior care facility. We stopped referring our clients to the Rose Garden homes years ago because of other business choices by the owners. We keep a close ear on the community, and we strive to refer only good quality homes to the families who ask us for help.
But nothing will ever beat your own discernment when choosing a care home for your loved one. Always make sure to check the state licensing website for citations against any home you’re considering. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Lots of questions. Homes are usually more than happy to clarify. If they aren’t, that’s a warning sign. For ideas of what to ask, check out our Top Ten Questions.