A Department of Labor initiative launched a year ago as of Wednesday has recovered more than $28.6 million in back wages and damages as well as assessments of $1.3 million in civil monetary penalties through investigations of residential care communities, nursing facilities, home health services and other care-focused industry employers, the Wage and Hour Division announced Wednesday.
The cases involve almost 25,000 workers.
To date, the initiative has completed more than 1,600 investigations and identified violations in 80% of its reviews, the division said. The most common violations among residential care facilities, nursing facilities and home health providers were failure to pay overtime or federal minimum wages or the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
For example, in May, an Illinois nursing home chain was ordered to pay close to $3 million in back wages to thousands of workers after a federal investigation found the company did not pay correct overtime to workers. And just last month, the part owner of a Pittsburgh-area assisted living provider paid more than $1 million in back wages and damages to 47 workers after a Labor Department investigation found that the company violated federal labor law.
Most recently, the Department of Labor is trying to locate 193 home care workers who may be eligible for $1.3 million in back wages from a Maryland home care firm. The caregivers worked for Pikesville, MD-based Salim Inc., which operated as A Plus Personal Home Care, between April 2020 and March 2022.
In addition to recovering back wages for the affected workers, the Wage and Hour division’s effort includes outreach programs to educate workers and employers about their respective rights and responsibilities under federal law, and how to report and avoid violations of federal law. As part of the effort, the division is hosting a webinar on federal protections for care industry workers on Nov. 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST. Attendance is free, but registration is necessary.
