THE SAILS GROUP (non-profit) review: The Sails Group does not pay its employees 35

I recently worked here. All the above is correct. Kids not being given meds. Meds left out not locked up. Fordging med books. No food. No water. These kids are on so much medication and they don't have water. One client went on a school trip and wasn't given even a dollar for water. It was 105 that day. It killed me to see the neglect. I was emotionally destroyed because of it bc I actually have a heart. The admin is a liar who I'm pretty sure keeps the money the clients parents give for herself. Co mingling of aggressive male clients with female clients. Inappropriate touching from male to female clients. I made formal complaints and nothing happened. Those poor clients are starving and being neglected. My house didn't have a single toy. No funds for activities. They sat in that house for hours a day with nothing to do. I donated a flat screen tv to the house just so the kids would have something. I miss those kids so much but there was nothing I could do. Now I'm searching for another position at a reputable company. Any suggestions for the San Diego area?

I'm a parent of one of the clients Sails Gtoup Home who live there for so many years.. They have done an excellent job not only to our son but to all clients who live there. The staff and management are very friendly, very efficient, effective, skillfull and well organized in their job. The group home is neat and clean at all times. The clients are all happy and contended with all their needs being addressed in a timely manner and parents are likewise very satisfied, too. Our son has a very complex and difficult behavior to manage but the group home dealsl with them very well.  They have always actively participated and effectively advocated in the Individual Educational Program at school and the IPP with the Regional Center most especially during  very challenging situations. AWESOME!

 

Just got my kid out of Sails after many unexplained bruises. The morale of the care takers is bad and the manager of the house was as dumb as they come. The employee turn over is very high and the good employees either get fired or quit so they are left with the bad. They are under major investigation right now for deaths in their facilities.

And yet Ihab and Vivian both collect $7, 500 EACH per MONTH as their salary. So they pay themselves nearly $200, 000 yearly for being the CEO and CFO. I know this is a true fact because Ihab made this statement under oath during a lawsuit.

It's not unproven. First, he is Egyptian. Second, He did not pay work comp for years-paid cash for employees to go to hospital and gave direct orders to not make a work comp. Third, I was an administrator and was involved in having sanctions placed on him for stealing residents money. I was fired for reporting to CCL and RC that he demanded his cousin work at the facility without fingerprinting. The same cousin was involved in several incidents of leaving residents unattended on the night shift. Ihab just kept moving his cousin to different facilities. Years later, I was adopting a child that ended up at one of his homes for dependent children. I confirmed with one of his staff that 1) kids were regularly being sent to school without food because no menu was up. 2) he did not pay registration on group home transportation vehicles and the police had pulled over the vehicles several times. 3) Staffing was extremely deficient. 4) Emergency behavioral protocols were not followed. I called licensing and all of my complaints were confirmed. His dependent homes were shut down within 6 months. I completely understand what the state of California has done to group homes and how this has negatively impacted group homes and staff, but Ihab has consistently run his residential programs like this since I was involved in 2000. As far as pay for employees, it was a big deal that staff would call the bank to pray that the funds were available and beg me to let them have a break so that they can get the money. Most of the time, the money was never there. Some times them money was not there a week later. My advice: call Community Care Licensing and California Department of Labor as soon as there is a discrepancy. They are both anonymous, he'll never know. He has made several bad investments over the years and has bled the homes to pay them back. How he is still able to open more homes is beyond me, but rest assured, several have been shut down due to neglect on his part.

If this is all true, why Isn't there a real legal complaint against this company? These all sounds like a bunch of people that were unhappy with their employment situation, or were bad employees and got laid off. They should have taken this directly to the company's administration instead of posting unproven accusations.

I have work for this company in Bakersfield ca everything on here so true. I have work in other companies before but never like sails. We didn't get paid holiday pay or overtime pay they would separate afternoons with nights just to avoid paying over time. people that work the night shift from 10pm to 8 a.m. Would be paid less Then day hours. I've seen so many things be done incorrectly by a certain admin. I didn't feel safe with this company. behavior would happen it was always be admins word against staff and admin were never there. adminis would clock out at 7 in the afternoon but would leave at 12pm in the afternoon. they would get mad when we would call him on. emergency. eventually i got tired of all of their bull ### after 9months y and quite last year... you cant trust anyone at that company

PLEASE HELP! SAILS has been profiting even more $$$$$ Ihab Shahawi has been funded $25, 000 per client/per month at the SAILS Crisis facility in Costa Mesa. Currently there are three clients. That is $75, 000 per month. The clients are not being properly taken care of and the staff are not being payed for the issues and behavior they have to address and are not properly trained also. SAILS is a huge scam and corrupt company and staff are scared to tell the truth in fear they will be fired. The Clients which are children are suffering. This is illegal and all of these people in this management and the family should go to prison!

I"am a potential hire for this company, after reading all these reviews I'am having some real hestitation about coming aboard. If these complaints are valid how come nobody has brought them up and seriously sought help with an attorney for a class action legal remedy. If these complaints continue and found to be credible there are plenty of state regulatory agencies that can look into the matter and take action, i have read all the complaints but i dont hear any one stepping up for any solutions, my advice is to call the attorney on this post, and if youre all so unhappy and miserable and do nothing about your plight then stay in that situation you deserve.

Everything that was stated above are true statements. I worked at Sails in San Diego, CA for a few months until I started to notice the shady practices like no overtime, no benefits, no sick days, etc., . Aside from all of the negative aspects of working for this company, this company should not be allowed to stay in business simply because of the unlawful and licensing violations that are present. The care that is provided to the residents are in the grey area between really bad and compliant to standards. The employees receive little to no training on how to perform their jobs. The staff are not qualified to provide the type of care that the residents need. Overall Sails Group properties and facilities should be a place that no one should leave their loved ones to be cared for. Unless you don't care about your family members of course, I suggest you remove any resident that is in the care of Sails immediately.

Why don't you all try and voice your concerns to the administration rather that talk badly about people behind their back. If you feel that there is something wrong with the company then send a complaint to the owners. If you complain and nothing comes of it then quit and find another job. Clearly you are unhappy with the conditions at work and if you aren't willing to work to better them then I do not understand why you still work there.

I worked there, these owners and relatives are foreign slime. It's a sad deal, this company takes care of kids who's parents won't or can't and is compensated by the state in most cases. They are super cheap and always pay you less than your owed on every paycheck. It's totally a 3rd world style get down. Ihab and Vivian are gross gypsies. Come on state of California, get these trashy foreigners and make them stop!

so it has happend AGAIN! PAYCHECKS ARE NOT HERE it was said that Sails is switching payroll companies again, what LIES... they just dont have the money to pay us, what not pay us out of another company account now I have too wait 3 days to get paid my bills cant wait...Sails is real quick to cut our salaries but not quick enough to pay us, this ### should be closed down so we can get the unemployment, my goal for 2012 and to report everything this company does to the state...

As a parent of a child that was in a Sails group home, unfortunately I have witnessed and agree with everything posted on this board. Sails management (the Columbian family and friends) are as corrupt as they come. They are pathological liars to the core and do everything and anything to hide the mistreatment of their non- Columbian employees and disabled clients. The records on my child are rarely accurate (always spun in positive light to keep state licensing off their back) and the employee turn-over is enormous. I can attest to this because my child was involved in more than one incidence that were never documented.

Special Needs training for supervisors is minimal to almost non-existent for staff. The staff psychologist(s) are supposed to train house managers and it is up to the house managers to train their staff. But, because there is a very high employee turn-over, and the house manager(s) (the Columbian family and friends) are usually taking lavish vacations, the training rarely gets passes on to the workers before they quit or are fired. In my observation, employees are usually fired before they can quit. Reasons for firings are typically as retaliation for speaking up or as threats to other employees for speaking the truth or raising concerns.

Sadly, although I do not have proof of this, it seems that someone in Regional Center upper management is in collusion with Sails with some kind of kick back for sending clients their way. I sense this is the case, otherwise wouldn't there would be more intense scrutiny of Sails by Regional Center? Regional Center seems to simply turn a blind eye to the obvious corruption.

Moreover, I find it very interesting when a new house manager or supervisor appears on the scene suspicious driving a brand new BMW or Mercedes sporting fine clothes and jewelry. Where does the money come from? Social work is not a high paying field folks. Am I missing something here?

If there is an investigator out there that has some time to look into corruption at Sails and/or possible collusion between Regional Center and Sails, you might uncover a rat hole.

BOTTOM LINE: For your own good and that of your disabled family member ... DO NOT SEND THEM TO Sails Group.

I am an attorney who currently has a case pendiing against the SAILS Group. I would like to speak to any of you who have had experiance with this company, good or bad, and specifically with IHAB SHAHAWI. Please contact me at [protected] if you would be interested in speaking to me about this matter. Thank You, KD Hughes, Esq.

This company has always been on the wrong side of the tracks. They are now trying to settle with everyone for the back money they owe everyone from their bonus pay. They want to pay between 25 to 50 percent of what is owed to you. Everything is stupid in this company. They need to stop hiring all their family members and hire people that can actually do the job. Stupid Human resource Director Alvaro could hardly speak any english and is compensating himself with his current girlfriend who is running another program in bakersfield. Seriously how can Vivan be CFO... she needs to let that roll go and give it to someone that can actually do the job... She will still get alot of money by just being married to Ihab... and Ihab should go to every single part of his group and find out first hand whats going wrong with all this. He think he has the trust of everyone and they all know what they are doing... but that is far from the truth. He thinks he is able to run this company like his family and work them like slaves but he can not.. and he will be sued and given jail time for all the mis doings he is doing to everyone. The sad truth is the children would be the ones who suffer the most. I hope Ihab reads all these comments and realizes that he needs to create change and do right to everyone. Even if it means downsizing for the bettterment of his company. Alvaro needs to be fired. He does not no [censor] and gives his opinnions like they are golden. All their peoples have flashy cars yet they dont even keep up their homes with leaky roofs and broken toilets and ovens for months! They can not run this like a small company any more. Many have offered to help but they like to keep things in the family because they know the only way they can continue having lavish vacations is by being wrong and doing wrong to all the kids, their workers and everyone they employee and work with. Sadly is that if they get sued all that would happen is that he would declare bankruptcy... but trust all you that are angry... Dont let him off the hook send his [censor] to court cuz what he is doing is criminal and make him serve prison time, along with his wife, and his family.

thats what happens, when your EX-HUSBAND works for you, he is not going to say anything because then he would have to give back the brand new Benz he bought last year, and why is that Vivian's ex-husband, hired his ex-girl friends kid try to pass him off as own kid, and has the kid was living with him in the group home and he bought him a Mustang... How is it that all new workers that are family of Vivian and Ihab all have nice cars when they start, could it be that sails is dipping into the money that they are hiding? or not giving to employees for raises? becuase if thats the case, then I too want to be columbian and realted to all that work thier...

or maybe caviar...while these kids are eating top ramen! how can they feel proud of this company when its all lies..and the bad thing is that if u have a problem u cant even talk to humane resourses because he is freken family he dont care about your problems..very sad.

What a truefull tale, nauseous how wonderful they feed those poor kids spoiled food, when is this maddness going to stop!, I know that in the home I was in I was told that we were getting food and when I unpacked the boxes the food was pasted the expiration date, and some of the look we could'nt even cook because we did'nt the right seasonings, when you look into the food pantry all the stuff thier is for show, we cant even use half the stuff in the pantry... but I bet Vivian is eating her steak and lobster everynight

Mr. shoker i totally agree with you this company is really unfair and nauseous like my name! besides the fact that these kids are so innocent for this company to treat them like crap its unfair ...well here is my experice i worked for the company for a short time then i quit right after all these bazzare things were going on..like them not having enouf food in the group home and we had to take them to another grouphome nerby to eat over there, besides all the food was expired and they still wanted us to feed them that food, another thing we never had soap for dishes or laundry we had to use laundry soap for dishes and dishwasing soap fro washing how bad is that because we always ran out! another thing was that everytime we had to contact our manager/ administrators over the weekend they will never awnser their phones all the calls were straaight to voicemail when there was an emergency staff had to deal with it until the following monday when they deside to show up! this company is so unfair and cruel to staff and cunsumers...i wodent dought if this company is hiding something since they are all colombians maybe they are running a cartel of drugs and this company is their excuse! poor kids...and this company needs to go down with all the scams in it!

I have one ther thing to add, why is it that employees at the sails group, change thier names every 3 months is it becuase they are not LEGAL in the states...?

I also like how sails gives us our over time as bonus pay, which means that when we work xmas and other hoildays we dont get the time and half, this company needs to be sued for everything they have and the CEO and his wife Vivan need to be homeless and put in a group themselfs, , , lets just hope they get treated better than they treat others...

I guess the other reason why we havent been awared a raise is because, all the supervisors put themselfs on the on the schdule and dont work those hours, but yet still get paid for time that they dont work!

I agree I have never worked for a place like Sails... The things that I have seen, I have been their for years and still have yet to be awared a rise, maybe it is because Vivan Shahawi and her Husband Ihab are always on vacation somewhere, and you know those vacays cost money, and the up keep on thier private home that the Shahawi's live in .. I think the other reason why I have not be awarded a rise is because, the angency is paying the relatives of Vivan Shahawi much more than non family members... I do have to say that Xmas party of 2010 was great ! we all loved the K-mart picture frames... But what I want to understand, is how can sails hire family members that are not legal to work in the U.S. and pay them more then non-family members? should'nt it be the other way around?...how funny is that ? Im so ready, lets see what the new year brings for sails if the Feds dont shut them down and arrest all of them...who knows maybe we might get a rise if Vivan doesnt hire any more of her relaitves that are not LEGAL to be here in the 1st place... Cause God knows her family members keep changing thier names every 3 months...

i agree

Mommy of one, you should be frightened to have your child with any home ran by the sails group. I have personally witnessed many disgusting actions taken by this company to cut financial corners which only endangers the kids living there. They have covered up medication errors so they didn't have to report it to the state which means children have been given someone else's medication, given too much medication, given at the wrong time, not given enough, etc. They have also forced employees to feed the clients outdated food and food that has been taken out of dumpsters. Some kids have gone days without hot water in the home they reside in because Sails is too cheap to pay the gas bill. Having the house come to a temp of over 100 degrees for days due to Sails not fixing the AC. Residential phones have been shut off for weeks at a time because they wouldn't pay the bill. The vans they use to transport clients in are mechanically unsafe because the company they use won't service any more vehicles since Sails owes them so much money. They don't provide adequate clothing or hygiene supplies as the state requires and PAYS the company to provide every month. The best thing you can do for your child is to take them out of that program IMMEDIATELY! and place them somewhere else. There are many reasons why the county won't even refer clients to Sails anymore, these are just a few of them.

I am very disturbed with these comments as I am a parent of a consumer and am seeing the same trends a her house. She has been there only a few months and the staff changes constantly. There is a lack of training as new staff rotate through and I do not feel my child is safe with the influx of staff from out of the country who may have questionable background checks. Can anyone speak to the constant rotation of live-in staff and staff training?

Ha Ha Ha... All of these posts are so true about Highlander, SAILS, and all of the other agencies they run... So funny, but Highlander was shut down because Michael Ricjey was caught stealing... Now that's just plain old ridiculous. What type of company places all of their trust into Mike Richey. Are you kidding me. He's the biggest rip off/Liar in California. I feel so sorry for the kids, but as far as the staff that worked there. They all deserve to be standing in the unemployment line. Simply for condoning his behavior. Good riddens to them all...

Agree with all posted complaints including post on highlanders favoritism concerning all administrative staff.looks can and are deceiving concerning this company and how its employees are treated.

yes i agree in part with with anonyumous626, i too have worked at the sails group location in riverside, ca. favoritism is rampant there some employees have less accountability than others which creates a very hostile environment. Its unlikely that administrator richey embezzles company funds (although i wouldn't put it past him), but it is his mismanagement of company funds that has left the facility in fiscal turmoil. Compensation for overtime is nearly non existence, even though the demands of the job require employees to work overtime from time to time. Every employee that i have directly worked with has had their paycheck shortchanged at least once (others have had it happen several times). When employees complain about not being paid appropriately they receive the run around. employees are even forced to falsify time cards to abate labors laws and other pertinent regulations. Administrator richey attempts to portray the riverside location as a professional organization, but the facility falls short in many ways. For instance administrator richey often manipulates staff and residents in very suttle ways. richey is very manipulative and misleads many of his subordinates, ask any employee they will confirm this, the residents are forced to spy on staff or face consequences, which is the case in most group homes, but its sad when you see kids scarred out of their minds if they don't write up staff. Administrator Richey has at times bragged to his subordinates that he fired an employee for poor performance or other issues. formal training of company policies and title 22 is pathetic and seemed like a formality. richey tells his subordinates that the company dislikes gossiping on the job, but richey gossips plenty while at mandatory employee meetings. Yes there have been times when the facility has not had the funds for cleaning supplies, adequate food and snacks for the kids, allowances for the kids, and even gas for company vehicles. If you have a young person ask you why he or she should go to college...tell them so they wont ever work for or manage a place like sails group in riverside, ca

I agree with anonymous626. Michael Richey lies, manipulates, and doesn't care about the people at the facility including the residents. They make employees lie on their time sheet to get the money they owe you. Most of the time they never pay you anyway. It is common for the facility run out of basic needs to run the facility (food, paper towels, even hand soap). Residents don't get their money when they ask for it or when they leave the place! Michael Richey gives them the run around all the time! And forget about overtime or time and a half! That doesn't exist even if you have to stay over or work extra hours because they don't have adequate staff. The ratio has never been in compliance. He probably manipulates the schedule when licensing comes around so that they don't get in trouble. The departments of labor needs to investigate this place. Michael Richey will accept applications but never hires anyone! But if something happens on your shift you're the one that gets the blame and then you're fired. His favoritism is well known. He will lie to your face if something is questioned that reflects his favoritism.

I agree with complaints.Favortism is with Administration and their staff.The breaking of Policy and Procedure abounds within the Administative walls while the Counselors are held Ridgedly Accountable to Policy and Protocol.

The company Lies about their pay to employees, they cheat everyone that is working currently on salary and hourly rates. Everyone that has worked for this group home knows that they have never paid a single cent on overtime pay ever! They pay for gas mileage at the federal rate, but they often cheat out employees on miles and dont pay all the mileage they have done. Also there is alot of favortism in this company. They never pay their employees for vacation time they have earned even though they go by the book and policies employees go on vacation and never get paid for that week or two weeks off they have requested. They currently have a time clock system that is difficult to use because it is a mobile job taking clients to appointments without being clocked in they often times dont account for those times. They often times require employees to pay for things and items out of their own pocket and promise to pay them back when it rarely happens. They have an idiot making schedules not paying attention to state and federal laws and the needs for each particular home and the abilities of the employees they currently have. They have started not to pay employees for training that is needed such as DSP testing (although they pay for the course) because it is deemed as pior education needed before you start work, but they give you the job offer and sign the employee up for classes under the group home. Often times employees work 12 plus hours a day... at times they force many under salary pay to work 48+ hour shifts. Again never paided for overtime. They never give bonuses. Promotion is based on favortism not ablility. They often cheat workers by stating a work week is during the week day monday through friday, and anything worked on the weekend saturday sunday is based either off salary or "bonus pay." which is unfair for workers in the long run because these are hours they worked which employees suffer more during tax season. The company keeps growing and currently they employee at least 4 people per home... they dont keep up with state and federally mandated laws which are required, They currently have about 20+ homes accross southern and central california. As the Director and corporate executives get richer their greed grows and do not compensate the hard work employees do to help the individuals they assist and give sails accross the regional centers in california a good name. Many horror stories have came from this group home such as not getting paid for days on end. When accountants make mistakes on pay or anything they make the employees suffer instead of the ones who made the mistake. The owners get mad over the cost of maintence and utlities during various times during the seasons, such as the summer when AC is used more energy cost go up and would rather see the homes not use AC and deal with consumer behaviors and aliements than pay for their comfort and care. They have a ridiculous efficiency rubric promissing raises they never pay to employees. Although we are in economic times and they have also fealt the pinch in the pay they have profited from each home they still make substancial profit. Many have worked for 5 years or more and have never promoted or raised their pay but give them more hours to work. The coroporation is horrible and if anyone ever sues this company they will win in small court claims but a lawyer needs to come in and group all past and current employees to make this company pay for there crooked ways. But if they do i would be out of a job! which is a rare commodity to have these days. I know administrators, executives and employees all have read these compliants and they often know who wrote which comliant or have a good idea who has. If i get in trouble for this compliant trust me you do not want to mess with me i have records and copies of when i was scheduled to work, my times sheets, and my pay check stubs and trust me i will bring many along down with me. Along with many miss doing i may report to bring this company down to its knees. Many are mistaken that this is one corporation, but in my research i have found that the owner has done something rather wierd by seperating his company into 3 different corporations (or he filed his company in that way) Sails San Diego, Sails Los Angeles, Sails Bakersfield. But it is all the same with the same corporate structure. Perhaps that is why he gets away with johnny law because he does not employee more than 50 per corporation. But it would make sense why he does not profit more since the owner pays more taxes paying for 3 corporations. Or who knows because he has not dissolved Sails bakersfield inc as a corp and it is currently a suspended status company. Concerning. Nonetheless whether how it is done the practices they have are not good, although i am a regular staff i wish for a raise once every year or so or a christmas bonus would be nice. That would make everyone less angry.

I agree with this fully. Another location of SAILS in Riverside, Ca administered by crooked Michael Richey. I currently work in this dreadful site, and he lies, manipulates, and steals company dollars and products. SAILS are a bunch of frauds that prey on their employees. I think the DEPT. of labor should take a look at theirs acts of nepotism, favortism, harrassment, and failure to abide by state laws.

everything that this anonymous person is stating is true sails group has never paid any employee overtime unless the employee is going to take action in small claims court. this company is ran by intimidation by the administrator of director ; the administrator of director dose not know how to follow procedure and do her job and i think she is not even qualified for the position but the owners like the way she kisses ### so they keep her around; i see the company getting sued by a lot of the employees if the owners do not get rid of the administrator of director and after every 80 hours the employees starts to get paid minimum wedge so meaning that they mess with the paychecks and taxes for example the house managers after getting paid 12 dollars a hour but after 80 hours they get paid 8 dollars a hour and they put everything after 80 hours under bonus pay tax free but those are your hard work hours. i feel that all the administrators of the facility's should not be intimidated by the owners administrators of director we should all get our overtime unpaid wedges and all the pay that we work hard for. the administrator of director the "current" is so selfish that when not promoted years ago started to cry because she was not promoted.

administrator of director: psyche madden