Home Care Worker Sues County

In the Case Guerrero vs. Superior Court, the state Supreme Court has left intact a ruling allowing a caretaker to sue Sonoma County after her disabled client failed to pay her. The state of California, statewide organizations of county governments, and Sonoma where unanimously denied review by the court.

Like thousands of in-home care takers, Adelina Guerrero was cheated out of her wages. Alejandra Buenrostro, the person she was providing care to, disappeared without paying her anything. Guerrero had logged 501 hours of regular employment and at least 87 hours of overtime. Buenrostro had been submitting Guerrero’s time sheets to the county and collecting her paychecks, which totaled more then ten thousand dollars. Guerrero is seeking double that amount in damages.

The county argued that it could not be considered Guerrero’s employer because it had no power to hire, fire her, or supervise her work. But the First District Court of Appeal said a jury should decide whether the county was a co-employer in light of its authority to determine eligibility for service, hours of work and pay rates.

Click here to read the full article, “Excluded from Federal Standards, California Home Aides Get Their Day in Court”, at http://inthesetimes.com

Click here to read the full article, “Home care worker can sue county for pay”, at SFGate.

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