L.A. Home Care Workers Have Gone Unpaid for Weeks

Thousands of Los Angeles County home care workers employed through the state In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program have gone several weeks without getting a paycheck, the Los Angeles Times reported on June 2.

Workers mail their timesheets every other week to a processing center in Chico, but a recent shipment was short by approximately 40,000 timesheets, all from workers based in L.A. County.

The Times reported that 21,000 of the missing timesheets have been recovered, but many workers have gone weeks without getting paid.

“I’m hoping that the utilities will not start calling,” IHSS employee Gail Weiland told the Times. “Because if they do, I don’t know what to tell them.” 

Scott Mann, spokesperson for Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents L.A.’s IHSS workers, told the Times, “Our call center has been blowing up over the last few days…. This is a severe problem.”

— by Matthew Ozga