FPI MANAGEMENT LAWSUIT
The Employment Lawyers Group law firm, run by Karl Gerber who has represented California since 1993, has filed a lawsuit against FPI Management. The California lawsuit alleges FPI Management required their employees to live on premises, and enter into rent credit agreements. The rent credit agreements assign values to apartments in excess of that which allowed under California Wage Order 5. In other words, FPI Management is taking a greater rent credit towards their employees' wages than allowed under California law.Although there have already been several class action lawsuits against FPI Management by their employees it does not appear any of these lawsuits dealt with their improper rent credits. Even if they did, the class periods in those lawsuits ended by the latest in July of 2017. Although the lawsuit the Employment Lawyers Group filed asks for a longer class period, it may be limited to improper rent credits by FPI Management from July of 2017 to whenever the lawsuit is certified as a class action, or preliminarily certified for settlement purposes if either of those events occur.The employees in the putative class action against FPI Management include all California employees who worked for Defendant FPI Management within the State of California from January 2, 2014 to present and who were required to live on-site at a property managed by Defendant FPI Management and who received a rent credit in excess of the maximum allowed under the Industrial Welfare Commission's Wage Order 5. These employees include property managers, maintenance employees, and any other employees whose wages were reduced by rent credits in excess of the limitations in Wage Order 5.While earlier lawsuits against FPI Management only covered nonexempt employees this particular lawsuit could cover exempt employees who received illegal rent credits. If that is the case the period of time the lawsuit can go back is all the way back to January 2, 2014. While Wage Order 5 allows rent credits of approximately $600 a month for single employee residents, the employee who filed the lawsuit was credited more than $2,000 for his apartment. Instead of receiving more than $2,000 in wages he was provided with an apartment he was forced to live in, and not paid more than $1,500 a month in wages he worked for. While FPI Management could have credited the employee's wages less than $600 a month they credited his wages more than $2,000 a month.Apartment managers and maintenance workers of FPI will be class members in this lawsuit if the court certifies it as a class action. Class action treatment for the lawsuit appears appropriate because the same rent credit agreement was used for approximately 500 employees, and a rent credit for more than allowed by California law was taken.Employees in the putative FPI Management class action for improper rent credits may be able to obtain the amounts of rent improperly taken from their wages. They may also be able to obtain interest on these improper rent deductions. Several additional penalties may also be obtained including $100 per paycheck that improperly reports rent credits, and 30 days of wages if the employee is no longer employed by FPI Management. Several legal theories have been alleged in the FPI Management lawsuit. These different legal theories allow employees to go back in time for wages and penalties for differing amounts of time. For the rent credits the lawsuit seeks to go back three to four years from January 2, 2018. Whether some of this period is wiped out due to a prior class action that went through July of 2017 is still unknown.If the Labor Workforce Development Agency does not investigate this issue, the putative class action against FPI Management will be amended to ask for Private Attorney General Penalties which class members may be able to share in. The period of time for Private Attorney General Penalties may be limited to one year from the date of administrative exhaustion of these penalties. The Employment Lawyers Group has already exhausted administrative remedies for the FPI Management lawsuit.The Employment Lawyers Group is eagerly awaiting to review all FPI Management rent credit agreements. Employees who have any questions about rent credits, or the putative class action against FPI Management should call the Employment Lawyers Group at (877) 525-0700