Employer name:                     Solid Care Home Health Inc.

Investigation site:                  1500 E Belt Line Road, Suite 200

                                                          Carrolton, TX 75006

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found Solid Care Home Health paid 28 non-exempt employees straight time for hours over 40 worked in a workweek, when time and one-half pay was required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The home healthcare provider also failed to keep proper timekeeping and personnel records.

 Back wages recovered:         $70,631 in back wages

                                                           $70,631 in liquidated damages

Quote: “Home healthcare employees are among the nation’s hardest-working, lowest-paid workers and their employers must pay them all of their earned wages,” said Wage and Hour District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “Employers should review their payroll practices to avoid compliance issues and the costly consequences of violating the law and contact the Wage and Hour Division with questions.”

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – also available in Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

LEBANON, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a summary judgment in federal court in its effort to recover more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages for 193 employees of a Pennsylvania home care agency and its owner, which failed to pay workers required minimum and overtime wages.

In response to the department’s motion for summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania entered a July 31, 2024, judgment requiring WiCare Home Care Agency LLC in Lebanon and owner Luis Hernandez to pay $529,770 in back wages plus an equal amount in liquidated damages. 

“Care industry workers provide support to people who depend on them for essential, quality-of-life services and they deserve to be paid fully for their hard work and dedication,” explained Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Wage violations are all-too-common in the healthcare industry and we are determined to root out offenders and hold them accountable for the financial harm they cause their employees.”  

The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found WiCare did not pay the required overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The division also determined the home health care agency did not pay some employees for all hours worked, and paid some employees less than $7.25 per hour, the current federal minimum wage. Investigators also learned WiCare failed to maintain accurate time records, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The Department of Labor will use all of its resources, including litigation if needed, to send a clear message to employers that willfully deny employees all of their hard-earned wages,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Defying federal regulations that protect workers’ rights is a serious mistake with costly consequences.” 

Based in Lebanon, WiCare Home Care Agency LLC provides in-home care services, such as companionship, personal care, homemaking and daily living support to residents in Adams, Berks, Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Northampton, Perry, Schuykill and York counties. 

Learn more about protections for care workers and the responsibility of employers to comply with federal minimum wage and overtime laws.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws the Wage and Hour Division enforces, contact its toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.

BUFFALO, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $375,649 in back wages and liquidated damages for 806 current and former employees of nursing homes in upstate New York that denied them overtime pay in violation of federal law.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Hurlbut Health Consulting LLC – doing business as Hurlbut Care and Hurlbut Care Communities – violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when it failed to pay workers time-and-one-half rates for hours over 40 in a workweek. 

Specifically, the investigation found Hurlbut failed to combine hours worked when employees, including certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and some non-nursing employees, worked at multiple locations in a week. The employer also miscalculated the weighted average when paying overtime and failed to include bonuses and shift differentials in calculating employees’ required rates of pay. 

“Nursing home employees, including nurses and nursing assistants, provide essential care for patients that helps maintain their dignity and support their ongoing needs. They absolutely deserve the wages they have rightfully earned for their hard work and dedication,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Milazzo in Albany, New York. “Despite previous experience and knowledge of the law’s requirements, Hurlbut Health Consulting has allowed new violations to occur, resulting in costly consequences.”

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, Hurlbut has paid $69,519 in civil money penalties to the department for their willful and repeated violations. The division identified similar violations in previous investigations of this employer.

The back wages and liquidated damages cover affected former and current workers in Rochester at Brightonian Nursing & Rehabilitation, Hamilton Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation, The Hurlbut, Latta Road Nursing Home East, Latta Road Nursing Home West, The Shore Winds Nursing Home and Woodside Manor Nursing Home; in Avon at Avon Nursing & Rehabilitation; in Hornell at Hornell Gardens; in Livonia at Conesus Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation; in Newark at Newark Manor; in Penfield at Penfield Place Nursing & Rehabilitation; and in Waterloo at Seneca Nursing and Rehabilitation. 

Headquartered in Rochester, Hurlbut Health Consulting LLC was founded in 2010 and operates skilled nursing home facilities in Livingston, Monroe, Seneca, Steuben and Wayne counties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $31.7 million in back wages for more than 24,000 workers in the healthcare industry nationwide. The Wage and Hour Division offers resources for health care workers and employers on its website. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the Workers Owed Wages search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of their immigration status. Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $450,000 from a Honolulu air cargo carrier that shortchanged 250 employees of their full pay and benefits while fulfilling a $113 million U.S. Postal Service contract to move mail between airports in Hawaii.

The recovery follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of Rhoades Aviation Inc., operating as TransAir, that determined the employer recklessly disregarded requirements in the Service Contract Act that sets prevailing wages and fringe benefits that employers under federal contract must pay.

 Specifically, division investigators found TransAir violated federal regulations by doing the following:

• Paying incorrect and lower prevailing wage rates to 208 material handling laborers for whom the division recovered $268,839 in back wages.
• Not disbursing correct health and welfare benefits, holiday and vacation pay to 208 workers for whom the division recovered $156,106 in fringe benefits.
• Failing to pay correct overtime wages to 55 workers for whom the division recovered $12,650 in overtime wages and $12,625 in liquidated damages.

“Our investigation found TransAir failed to comply with federal service contract regulations regarding worker compensation,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter in Honolulu. “The U.S. Postal Service’s federal contract obligated TransAir to not only comply with standards for mail delivery but also for standards that deliver the lawful payment and benefits to workers performing those labor-intensive services.”   

Investigators also determined TransAir unlawfully made 30-minute deductions for lunch breaks not taken, causing the employer to underreport and underpay overtime hours, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

 Since 1982, Rhoades Aviation Inc.’s fleet of TransAir aircraft has provided air cargo service and charters within the state of Hawaii to deliver packages, mail, animals, oversized baggage, emergency equipment and other items. In addition to its USPS contract, the company fulfills contracts with UPS, FedEx and Pacific Air.

 Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division and how to file an online complaint. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

 Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for free on iOS and Android devices in English or Spanish to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $103,665 in back wages for 38 workers employed by a Southlake landscaping company that misclassified them as independent contractors and, by doing so, denied them overtime pay.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act included failing to pay overtime at time and one-half an employee’s rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek and not keeping accurate records.

“Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a serious problem that deprives workers of their hard-earned wages, benefits and protections,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping has learned there are costly consequences for their violations. We encourage all employers to use our online tools or contact us to better understand laws governing their pay practices.”

Based in Southlake, J.P. Above & Beyond Landscaping provides lawn maintenance, landscaping, tree and bush trimming, flower and mulch installation, sod installation, leaf cleanup and irrigation repair services. 

Workers can use the Wage and Hour Division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to check if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the division confidentially for help at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  

Employer:      

Passavant Memorial Homes                                                                                                                                                                                                             163 Thorn Hill Road                                                                                                                                                                                                       Warrendale, PA 15086

Investigation findings: 

A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found that residential homes operator Passavant Memorial Homes failed to include non-discretionary bonuses when calculating overtime wage rates for 504 employees. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, these bonuses must be included when computing overtime wages.

Back wages and damages recovered:         

$163,418 in back wages for 504 employees.                                                                                                                                                                   $163,418 in liquidated damages for 504 employees. 

Quote: 

“Passavant Memorial Homes workers deliver essential care and enable people in need to live with dignity. Yet, too often, they are shortchanged their hard-earned wages by employers that don’t include non-discretionary bonus payments in overtime calculations,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh. “We’re committed to protecting these workers and ensuring they get their full pay.” 

Background: 

Founded in 1895, Passavant Memorial Homes operates 140 residential homes that offer direct care and support services to individuals with intellectual disabilities throughout western Pennsylvania, as well as provides support and companion care in personal residences.

Learn about wage protections for care workers and the Wage and Hour Division.

Ed. Note: On Sept. 16, 2024, the quote from Wage and Hour District Director David An was revised.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court judgment requiring 15 gas stations - operating under brands such as BP, Mobil and Sunoco - in Bronx, Nassau and Suffolk counties and their owner and president to pay more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to more than 100 current and former employees in response to a federal investigation. 

In March 2022, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York based on an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division which found that from 2015 through 2018 businesses owned by Jagjit Singh failed to pay employees overtime, paid some less than minimum wage and did not keep wage records as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Specifically, the division found the employer violated federal law by doing the following:

• Withholding overtime pay from employees who often worked well over 40 hours per week, including some who exceeded 85 hours per week; instead, paying straight-time rates when the required overtime rates were owed.
• Failing to pay some employees at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
• Not maintaining accurate or complete records of wages, hours and other employment conditions. Some stations had no records before 2017 or incomplete records. 

“The Department of Labor alleged in its complaint that as an owner of 15 gas stations, Jagjit Singh willfully denied over one hundred employees their hard-earned wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director David An in Westbury, New York. “The back wages recovered, and damages and penalties assessed, send a clear signal to all employers that intentionally defying federal law will have costly consequences.”

In addition to requiring Singh and his businesses to pay $549,673 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages, the judgment directs the employers to pay $75,655 in civil money penalties to the department for the willful nature of the violations. View the consent judgment.

“The U.S. Department of Labor does not hesitate to pursue all actions, including litigation, to protect workers whose employers fail to fulfill their legal obligations,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York. “The department has zero tolerance for employers who choose to disregard federal wage requirements.”

The division’s Long Island District Office in Westbury conducted the investigation. Trial attorneys Jason Glick and Jasmine Wade of the regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the case.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of their immigration status. Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

DALLAS – Bartenders at two Dallas-area restaurants who depend on good tips in return for great service will recoup $197,902 in earnings after federal investigators found the establishments’ owner and operator forced them to share tips with non-tipped employees illegally.

The recovery follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that discovered The Peak Inn LLC and Adair’s Saloon Inc. operated an illegal tip pool when the employers shared tips earned by 20 bartenders with the restaurants’ cooks. 

The division found the employer violated federal minimum wage and overtime provisions by not paying cooks at least the federally required $7.25 per hour for all hours worked and not paying them time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for hours over 40 per workweek. Investigators also determined the employer did not combine an employee’s work hours when they worked as a bartender and a cook and when an employee worked at both restaurants. In addition, The Peak Inn and Adair’s Saloon failed to keep records required by law.

 “Like many workers, bartenders spend long days and nights on their feet in the hope that great customer service earns them good tips,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Jesus A. Valdez in Dallas. “The Peak Inn and Adair’s Saloon illegally withheld tips that are these bartenders’ property and shared them with non-tipped employees. Our investigation led to a significant recovery of hard-earned wages for 20 workers.”

The investigations are part of an ongoing food service industry initiative to identify wage violators, recover back wages and, when appropriate, assess damages and civil money penalties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29.6 million in back wages for nearly 26,000 food service workers and assessed food service employers $6.1 million in penalties.

Owned by Joe Morales, the Peak Inn and Adair’s Saloon were both named among Dallas’ top 100 bars in 2023. 

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, including the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers and employers confidentially in more than 200 languages at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.   

Lea en Español       

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to connect 28 former employees of a Cordele home healthcare company with their share of $65,944 in back wages and liquidated damages recovered after an investigation found the employer denied them overtime wages they earned.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined Adventist Homecare and Medical Services LLC paid a total of 96 employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including hours over 40 in a workweek when the Fair Labor Standards Act required overtime wages be paid. After its investigation, the division recovered a total of $470,261 in back wages and liquidated damages for employees owed overtime by Adventist Homecare between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023.  

“Paying workers what they are legally owed is crucial in the healthcare field, particularly for home care workers,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Steven Salazar in Atlanta. “Federal wage laws are uncompromising and protect workers’ rights to be paid fully for their work so that they can care for themselves and the people who depend on them.” 

To date, the division has compensated more than half of the workers owed back wages and damages and continues to confirm the identities of 28 former Adventist Homecare employees who have not yet responded to notification letters. In some cases, employees are entitled to recover thousands in monies they’re owed. 

When the division recovers wages from an employer cited for violations, workers have three years to reclaim back wages and damages before funds must be sent to the U.S. Treasury. As such, Adventist Homecare workers must claim their shares of back wages and damages by April 2027.

“We urge people employed by Adventist Homecare and Medical Services LLC between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023, to contact us so that we can get them the back wages and damages that they may be owed for overtime their former employer should have paid them,” Salazar added. “Getting workers the wages that they are legally owed is a top priority for our agency. Finding these 28 employees is an urgent concern.”

The division encourages former Adventist Homecare workers who think they are owed back wages to use the agency’s Workers Owed Wages online tool, or to contact the Wage and Hour Division in Atlanta. 

Adventist Homecare and Medical Services LLC is a home care agency providing personal care support, companionship, nursing and respite services for elderly individuals.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions, and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the agency, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division also offers online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements.

Workers and employers can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android or iPhone Timesheet App for free in English and Spanish. 

LUBBOCK, TX – Many people who work in the restaurant industry depend on tips in exchange for good service which, like quality food at fair prices, can bring customers back and allow their employer to succeed. Despite the need for good service, the U.S. Department of Labor too often finds restaurant employers, including three businesses in Lamesa and Lubbock, withholding tips that legally belong to the people who earned them.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered a total of $61,646 for 140 workers and assessed the operators of Ohana’s Japanese Steak Restaurant in Lamesa, and at The Catch and Johnny Fab’s Cadillac Grill in Lubbock a total of $7,200 in penalties.

“Tips are the property of the people whose hard work earned them,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Ortiz in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The employers in these cases illegally withheld workers’ tips and either kept them, shared them with non-tipped employees or used them to pay business expenses. Employers who shortchange tipped workers face costly consequences, which can include penalties in addition to back wages owed.”

Specifically, investigators found the owner of Tang Ohanas LLC, operator of Ohana’s Japanese Steak Restaurant illegally included themselves in the workers’ tip pool and kept most of the tips. The division recovered $43,641 for eight employees and assessed the employer $768 in civil money penalties. 

At The Catch, operated by Catch Lubbock South LLC, the division determined the employer illegally allowed salaried managers to participate in the restaurant’s tip pool, recovering $13,752 owed to 107 employees and assessing the owners with $3,036 in penalties.

Investigators found Tres Patos Management LLC, operator of Johnny Fab’s Cadillac Grill, kept tips illegally to compensate for the company’s bar register shortages, which caused the rate of pay for bartenders to fall below the required minimum wage. The division recovered $2,126 for 25 employees and assessed the employer $3,425 in penalties.

These investigations are part of an ongoing food service industry initiative to identify wage violators, recover back wages and, when appropriate, assess damages and civil money penalties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $29.6 million in back wages for nearly 26,000 food service workers and assessed $6.1 million in penalties.

The Wage and Hour Division enforces laws governing pay practices and other labor standards, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, and determines if employers have misclassified employees as independent contractors and denied them critical benefits and worker protections. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division protects workers regardless of immigration status and can communicate with workers and employers confidentially in more than 200 languages at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, which is available in English and Spanish for Android and Apple devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.