An assisted living owner who allegedly threatened to fire employees who cooperated with a federal investigation into the community’s pay practices has been ordered to attend anti-retaliation training and pay $16,500 in back wages.
Monday, Judge Jane M. Beckering of the US District Court, Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, issued a consent judgment ordering Safe Haven Assisted living of Haslett LLC and owner Tamesha Porter to pay the back wages and liquidated damages to three former employees.
The action follows a February complaint filed by the US Department of Labor, where the Wage and Hour Division conducted an 18-month review of the company’s pay practices. Porter was accused of regularly threatening employment termination and trying to identify employees she believed had cooperated with the investigation. She also was accused of contacting a former employee’s prospective employer with claims of misconduct at the community.
“This case’s resolution restores back wages earned and compensates the workers harassed by Tamesha Porter for exercising their rights to cooperate with federal investigators, a clear violation of the workers’ protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Mary O’Rourke, Wage and Hour Division director, Grand Rapids, MI, said in a statement.
Safe Haven also must display a fact sheet about the FLSA’s anti-retaliation provisions and provide neutral job references for all former employees.
A review of payroll records from Aug. 16, 2020, through Dec. 12, 2021, alleged that the company and Porter failed to pay affected workers for breaks not taken due to work demands, a violation of FLSA overtime provisions. The DOL obtained a consent judgment in federal court on Jan. 17 requiring Porter and Safe Haven to pay $15,238 in back wages and damages to six employees, along with a $3,618 civil penalty. The DOL indicated that Porter has made those payments.
The agency alleged that Porter threatened employees in November 2021, when she learned of the investigation, and that she continued those threats through Feb. 7, 2022.
