SAN DIEGO: A couple who allegedly forced three undocumented Filipino caregivers to work as much as 24 hours a day at their North County elder care facilities pleaded not guilty this week to human trafficking and wage theft charges.
Rolando “Bobby” Solancho Corpuz, 57, and Maria Elsabel Sio Corpuz, 41, have been accused of exploiting the victims’ immigration status in order to severely underpay them and have them work long hours at the Rosa Garden Villa in Vista and the Rose Garden Capo in Escondido, Calif.
Prosecutors said the victims were not qualified to be caregivers and yet each were tasked at times with caring for more than a dozen patients on their own. Their duties included feeding, bathing and changing patients’ diapers.
They were also required to administer medications and give insulin injections to patients despite lacking proper certification, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) Executive Director Aquilina Soriano-Versoza said they “are standing with these courageous Filipino home care workers who are taking action to hold exploitative employers accountable so that other workers are not exploited in the same way.”
“They are showing that it is possible for workers to file wage claims and win, and that the more workers stand up, employers will know there are real consequences to committing wage theft and other labour violations,” she said.
A declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed last month states the Corpuzes deducted large portions of the victims’ pay, with the money purportedly to go to an immigration attorney who would help them become legal permanent residents.
But the declaration states one victim had more than US$19,000 withheld from her pay, but only about $4,000 was ever paid to the Corpuzes’ immigration attorney.
The document states the victims were paid between $130 to $150 a day to work six or seven days per week, in violation of California minimum wage laws. They were also not provided overtime pay despite sometimes having to work evening shifts that stretched their workdays into 24-hour affairs, the declaration states.
One victim complained to Rolando Corpuz about the long hours she was required to work and was told “to follow his instructions or he would report her to immigration,” the declaration states.
The Corpuzes, both of whom face nearly 20 years in state prison if convicted of all charges, remain out of custody on $300,000 bail.
A judge declined a prosecutor’s request on Thursday to raise their bail to $1 million each, but did rule that while out of custody, they must surrender their passports and are prohibited from operating a care facility without proper licensing.
The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement “there is a potential for many more victims of this labor trafficking and exploitation scheme” and sought information on similar alleged crimes from other former employees. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
