US Department of Labor alleges Palm Beach medical transportation company misclassified employees as independent contractors, denied them overtime pay

Date of action:                       March 31, 2023

Type of action:                      Complaint

Names of defendant:         Medi-Wheels of the Palm Beaches Inc.

Allegations: The U.S. Department of Labor alleges that Medi-Wheels of the Palm Beaches Inc. – a company providing non-emergency and emergency medical transportation services to patients in South Florida and Florida’s West Coast – misclassified 46 of its drivers as independent contractors and violated minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The complaint seeks back wages resulting from these violations from June 2020 through Dec. 1, 2022, and for violations continuing after Dec. 1, 2022, through present, for current and former employees listed in the complaint, as well as liquidated damages and an injunction against future violations of the FLSA.

Quote: “Employers who willfully violate labor laws at the expense of employees and competitors must understand that we will do everything within our rights, including litigation, to bring them to justice,” said U.S. Department of Labor Regional Solicitor Tremelle Howard in Atlanta.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Palm Beach Division

Docket Number: 9:23-cv-80505-RLR