PITTSBURGH – A federal court has ordered a Pennsylvania mother and daughter to pay more than $2.4 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages, after a three-day trial confirmed the pair used illegal pay practices to avoid paying full wages to 345 workers who provided daily living assistance and home healthcare in the Pittsburgh area.

On Aug. 5, 2022, Judge Christy Criswell Weigand of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania found Anna Zaydenberg, owner of Elder Resource Management Inc., operating as ComForCare Home Care, and her daughter Marsha Simonds, owner of Staff Source, liable for $1,242,146 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. Both companies are also liable for the full amount. 

The ruling follows an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The investigation found that Zaydenberg and Simonds set up Staff Source and then violated the Fair Labor Standards Act when they redirected workers’ overtime hours to the staffing company’s pay records to avoid paying overtime.

The division determined that while ComForCare hired the workers and they worked only for the company’s clients, the workers received two separate checks from ComForCare and Staff Source. Investigators discovered that ComForCare staff handled payroll for both companies and manipulated the payrolls repeatedly so that each check showed less than 40 hours a week and often the company paid no overtime, even when employees worked 50, 60 or more hours some weeks.

Following the probe, the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor filed a federal lawsuit against Zaydenberg, Simonds and their companies. The court ruled the workers were jointly employed and both companies owed them overtime.  

In addition to back wages and damages, the division assessed $434,268 in civil money penalties given the willful nature of the employers’ FLSA violations. 

“While ComForCare workers delivered essential round-the-clock, daily living assistance to people in need, the companies went to great lengths to deny these workers their hard-earned overtime wages,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “The U.S. Department of Labor works diligently to prevent employers like these from harming workers and their families. Their actions were illegal and unconscionable.” 

“The U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania’s finding sends an important message to employers in the home healthcare industry,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “Employers must pay workers overtime when the law requires and they cannot evade the law by trying to hide their violations. The Solicitor’s Office will continue to focus on this industry and show those who defy the law that there are costly consequences to such actions.”  

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $13.8 million for more than 17,000 healthcare industry workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there were more 1.9 million job openings in the healthcare and social assistance industry, and that more than 728,000 industry workers quit their jobs in June 2022 – all of which is forcing employers to compete hard to retain and recruit the people they need to operate. 

Elder Resource Management Inc. is an independently owned franchise of ComForCare Home Care, a nationwide network of more than 200 in-home healthcare companies. Elder Resource Management provides personal care, companionship, respite care, cleaning and meal preparation to residents in Allegheny County.   

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 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 in more than 200 languages. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for android devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate. 

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $28,455 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages from a Big Island nursery and landscaping company after they failed to pay overtime wages to 37 employees.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Aikane Nursery & Landscaping – owned by brothers Brandon and Bradley Belmarez –  paid its employees straight time for overtime hours worked in some weeks. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employees be paid time-and-one-half of their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

Division investigators also found Aikane Nursery & Landscaping failed to keep and maintain accurate payroll and time records of its employees’ hours of work and violated the child labor requirements of FLSA by allowing minors under the age of 16 years-old to work more hours per week than federal law allows.

In addition to paying a total of $56,910, in back wages and damages, the employer paid a civil monetary penalty of $10,000 for a child labor violation and reckless disregard of the act’s overtime requirements.

“The onus is on the employer to understand federal labor laws, to record all hours of work accurately, and to ensure employees receive all of the wages they have earned according to the law,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Terrence Trotter. “Anyone who employs minors must comply with child labor laws and ensure the safety and well-being of young workers.”

Learn more about the division, including its search tool to learn if you are owed back wages collected by the division. For confidential compliance assistance, employees and employers can call the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free.

PITTSBURGH –  The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $65,640 in back wages and liquidated damages for three workers at two Pittsburgh-area gas station and convenience stores after its investigation found the employer had a history of shortchanging workers and violating federal overtime laws.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. – a Monaca-based operator of Sunoco gas stations and owner Durlabhju Ukani – did not pay employees the overtime they were legally due when they worked between 57 and 112 hours in a week. Om Shiva failed to pay one-and-one-half times employees’ required rates of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain records of employees’ work hours. The investigations covered locations in Freedom and Cranberry Township.

The latest action follows a Nov. 5, 2021, consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania that required Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and its owners to pay $281,029 in back wages and liquidated damages to two workers at a gas station and convenience store in Monaca. The judgment also orders them to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act in the future.

During this prior investigation in 2021 and others in 2011, 2016 and 2020 at other locations they operate, Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and Ukani were informed of the FLSA’s requirements, including the responsibility to pay overtime and maintain records of employees’ work hours.

“Despite these investigations and their knowledge of their responsibilities under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and Durlabhju Ukani recklessly disregarded federal overtime and recordkeeping requirements,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director John DuMont in Pittsburgh. “These types of violations are common in the retail industry and can be prevented by complying with the law or contacting the Wage and Hour Division with questions to avoid costly consequences. There should be no doubt that we will use every tool at our disposal when employers chose to ignore federal labor laws.”

“When an employer like Om Shiva Enterprise Inc. and owner Durlabhju Ukani engage in wage theft, they deprive vulnerable workers of the wages they need to make ends meet. The U.S. Department of Labor has – and will continue – to actively pursue appropriate and active legal remedies to compel serial violators to adhere to the Fair Labor Standards Act and their obligation to pay their employees properly,” said Regional Solicitor Oscar L. Hampton III in Philadelphia.

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, the consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania requires the defendants to pay $843 in civil money penalties to the Labor Department. It also prohibits them from future overtime and recordkeeping violations and soliciting or accepting payment of the wages and damages from the affected employees.

View the complaint and consent judgment.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the required rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

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. Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of their immigration status. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for android devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $92,326 in back wages and liquidated damages for 18 workers whose employer paid them a fixed weekly rate to stock shelves, serve customers at meat counters and operate cash registers at three LaCanasta Grocery stores in Indianapolis.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that, by paying the flat salary, the employer failed to ensure they paid workers the required federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25. Additionally, the employer failed to pay overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation determined LaCanasta owed $46,163 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. In addition to paying the back wages and damages, LaCanasta will now require all employees to record their hours worked by clocking in and out on a tablet and will compensate them at time and one half their hourly rate for overtime hours worked.

“The wages recovered for these 18 workers makes a significant difference in their ability to support themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Patricia Lewis in Indianapolis. “Historically, small grocers employ young, low-wage and vulnerable workers who may not understand their rights to basic wage protections like overtime and minimum wage. Our efforts serve to educate workers, employers and the public on compliance with wage laws.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division’s Midwest initiative in the grocery industry recovered $172,124, in back wages for more than 200 workers, an average of about $823 per employee. Most commonly, the division found violations of overtime, minimum wage, and child labor standards.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that, in June 2022, 769,000 retail services workers left their jobs, and projected that 842,000 job openings existed. Learn more about FLSA rules for the retail industry.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

PERRY, OH – An Ohio nursery owner’s history of violations, coupled with allegations that they intimidated and threatened workers, and denied them their full wages, has led the U.S. Department of Labor to assess $76,278, in penalties and to debar the Perry employer from participating in the federal agricultural visa program for three years.

Known as H-2A, the program allows employers to recruit and transport agricultural workers from outside the U.S. on a temporary basis, often for seasonal work or when sufficient numbers of U.S. workers are not available.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Secor Nursery in Perry – owned by Lawrence J. Secor – violated the H-2A program as follows:

• Discriminated against, intimidated and threatened workers. 
• Made illegal deductions from wages.
• Required employees to repay costs associated with inbound and outbound transportation.
• Shifted the cost of H-2A participation to the workers.
• Failed to record the terms and conditions of the job offered accurately.

“Unscrupulous actions like intimating workers and denying them wages will not be tolerated from Secor Nursery or any other employer. The hard work performed by people employed in the agricultural industry is essential to our nation’s food supply and yet, too often these temporary guest workers are exploited by employers that fail to live up to the terms of their own contracts,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Matthew Utley in Columbus, Ohio.

“The H-2A visa program is designed to help industry employers meet their labor needs while treating guest and U.S. workers fairly. Employers who fail to fulfill their obligations as H-2A participants and who ignore the program’s worker protections violate the law and gain an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” Utley added.

Investigators also determined Secor Nursery violated overtime regulations during certain workweeks when employees handled crops grown from other farms. Although agricultural workers are not required to receive overtime, they must be paid additional half-time for hours worked over 40 in a workweek when they handle crops grown on other farms.

The division assessed Secor with the civil money penalties for the H-2A violations and debarred the employer from H-2A participation until May 2025. Investigations previously found program violations by the nursery in 2009, 2011 and 2018. The most recent investigation also recovered $62,330 in back wages for 19 workers.

Secor Nursery is a family owned and operated nursery and farm market, growing fruits, vegetables and nursery stock from March through October.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 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.

Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for Android devices to ensure hours and pay are accurate.

GUAYNABO, PR – Mientras 62 empleados en dos centros de cuidados paliativos de Puerto Rico brindaban servicios esenciales para que los pacientes terminales y sus familias se sintieran cómodos, el Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos realizó una investigación y descubrió que las prácticas salariales de sus empleadores perjudicaban la capacidad de los empleados de cuidar de sí mismos y de sus familias.

Los investigadores de la División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento, descubrieron que Hospicio en el Hogar Fe, en Manatí, y Esperanza de P.R., en Mayagüez, (ambos del mismo dueño y que funcionan con el nombre Hospicio la Fe) clasificaban de forma incorrecta a los empleados como personal voluntario y les pagaban un estipendio de $3.75 o $5.00 por hora en concepto de gastos, como el combustible. Así, al pagar menos del salario mínimo federal ($7.25 por hora), el empleador incurrió en violaciones del salario mínimo.

La división también determinó que los centros de cuidados paliativos no pagaban a sus empleados las horas extras correspondientes, en caso de que trabajaran más de 40 horas en una semana de trabajo. Además, Hospicio la Fe no elaboró ni mantuvo registros precisos y completos de los salarios y horas de sus empleados. Estas acciones violaron la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo.

La investigación recuperó $54,673 en salarios atrasados para los 62 empleados.

"Con la pandemia, se demostró que los servicios que presta el personal de salud son esenciales para nuestras familias, nuestras comunidades y la economía. Los trabajadores se ponen en riego a sí mismos cuando prestan estos servicios", explicó el director distrital de la División de Horas y Salarios, José R. Vazquez-Fernandez, en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. "Con una población estadounidense que envejece con rapidez y una demanda de personal de salud que crece al mismo ritmo, los empleadores que maltratan a los trabajadores o les niegan los derechos y beneficios que la ley les otorga no tendrán suficientes trabajadores para satisfacer la demanda".

En el año fiscal 2021, la división recuperó casi $14 millones para más de 17,000 trabajadores del sector sanitario en más de 1,100 investigaciones. La Oficina de Estadísticas de Trabajo prevé que en junio de 2022 había más de 1.9 millones de ofertas de empleo para trabajadores de la salud y asistencia social, ya que cerca de 728,000 trabajadores de este ámbito dejaron sus puestos, todo lo cual muestra un mercado laboral muy competitivo en estas áreas.

"Es posible que, en comparación con los que cumplen con ley, los empleadores que no respeten los derechos de los trabajadores tengan dificultades para retener y contratar a las personas que necesitan para su correcto funcionamiento", agregó Vazquez-Fernandez.

Hospicio la Fe brinda cuidados especiales a personas con enfermedades terminales en sus propios hogares y está certificado y pagado por Medicare para ofrecer servicios de cuidados paliativos.

Para recibir información sobre las leyes aplicadas por la División, comuníquese con la línea de ayuda gratuita de la agencia al 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Los trabajadores pueden llamar a la División de Horas y Salarios de forma anónima para hacer preguntas. El Departamento puede hablar con las personas que llaman en más de 200 idiomas.

Obtenga más información sobre la División de Horas y Salarios, incluida una herramienta de búsqueda que puede utilizar si cree que la División le debe salarios atrasados. Descargue la nueva Aplicación Timesheet de la agencia para dispositivos Android a fin de garantizar que las horas trabajadas y la remuneración sean exactas.

Read the release in English.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor is offering online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Presented by the department’s Wage and Hour Division, the seminars are part of the division’s ongoing effort to increase awareness and improve compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements.

The seminars will include video training on many Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act topics that participants can view on demand. In addition to recorded videos, the division will offers live, online question and answer sessions on DBA and SCA compliance from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. EDT.

The live Davis-Bacon Act compliance session is scheduled for Sept. 13 and the live session on Service Contract Act compliance is scheduled for Sept. 14.

“With the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented investments in the nation’s infrastructure, the Wage and Hour Division wants to ensure that employers understand the importance of compliance with the Davis-Bacon and Service Contract acts and other laws we enforce,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “Our efforts are intended to help create good jobs and support responsible employers by providing useful opportunities for contractors, workers and contracting agencies to understand the laws that govern wages and benefits on federal contracts better.” 

While seminar attendance is free, registration is required. Register to attend the Prevailing Wage seminar.

Additional information – including links to video trainings and dates for upcoming Q&A sessions, will be provided to registrants soon.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division.

ORLANDO, FL – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor of 11 central Florida heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors have recovered more than $113,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 169 workers whose employers’ illegal pay practices denied them their full wages.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigators identified a wide variety of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by the contractors that undercut their employees’ wages. Some failed to include bonuses and commissions in workers’ rates of pay when calculating overtime and, as a result, paid overtime at rates lower than those permitted by law for hours over 40 in a workweek.

Investigators found that other contractors failed to combine hours of work when employees performed different jobs for the same employer. For example, an employer paid workers by the hour for work on new construction and on a piece-rate basis for direct service to customers but did not combine the hours worked each week for the purpose of determining and paying overtime due. In another violation of overtime regulations, an employer awarded employees compensatory time off on an hour-for-hour basis for hours over 40 in a workweek, when the law requires these workers be paid a time-and-one-half rate.

In all of the investigations, the division cited employers for failing to keep accurate payroll records.

The 11 investigations included six entities owned by David Cox, Ryan Cox and Richard Allard, and operated as either One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning or Ben Franklin Plumbing. Other entities investigated include Air Source America Inc., owned by Jason M. Buehler and operated as Buehler Air Conditioning; Barineau Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., owned by Patrick Barineau and operated as Barineau Heating & Air Conditioning; Sun Kool Air Conditioning Supply LLC, owned by Frank Nicholson III and operated as Sun Kool Heating and Air; Swamp Heating and Air LLC, owned by Maria V. Radziminski and operated as Gator Heating and Air Conditioning; and Weather Engineering, owned by James Daniel Griffin and operated as A+ Air Conditioning & Refrigeration.

“Employers who fail to pay their workers all of their rightfully earned wages make it more difficult for employees and their families to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Wildalí De Jesús in Orlando, Florida. “The violations found in these investigations of HVAC companies in central Florida could have been avoided. We encourage employers and employees with questions about compliance with federal wage laws to contact us for more information.”

Employment of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers is projected to grow 5 percent by 2030, adding more than 38,000 HVAC jobs each year. 

“Employers who do not respect their workers’ rights will likely struggle to retain and recruit the people they need to remain competitive, as workers look for opportunities with employers that do,” De Jesús added.

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. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

SOUTHAVEN, MS – The operator of five Wing Stop franchise locations in Mississippi who made employees pay for their uniforms, safety training, background checks and cash register shortages – and violated child labor regulations – has been held  accountable by the U.S. Department of Labor, and paid $114,427 in back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation into the pay practices of Boss Wings Enterprises LLC in Southaven discovered several violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including the following:

• Minimum wage violations when paycheck deductions for uniforms and cash register shortages caused some employees’ average hourly rates to fall below the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
• Overtime violations when the employer’s deductions for safety training and background checks illegally decreased the rate-of-pay in weeks when workers earned overtime, and led Boss Wings to pay overtime at rates lower than federal law requires.
• Recordkeeping violations for failing to maintain a record of employee hours worked and wage deductions.

The investigation led to the recovery of $51,674 in back wages and liquidated damages for 244 workers, and an assessment of $62,753 in civil money penalties.

“Restaurant industry employees work hard, often for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Audrey Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. “The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers by deducting the costs of uniforms, cash register shortages or training expenses, or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate.”

In addition to the wage violations, division investigators learned that Boss Wings allowed a 15-year-old employee to work past 10 p.m. several times in June 2021, a violation of FLSA child labor work hours standards. Standards prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from working before 7 a.m., or after 7 p.m. from June 1, through Labor Day.

The investigation included the following Wing Stop locations operated by Boss Wings Enterprises LLC: 

• Boss Wings XXX LLC, operating as Wing Stop #1590 in Clarksdale.
• Boss Wings XXV LLC, operating as Wing Stop #753 in Tupelo.
• Boss Wings XXVI LLC, operating as Wing Stop #777 in Starkville.
• Boss Wings XII LLC, operating as Wing Stop in Olive Branch.
• Boss Wings XXVII LLC, operating as Wing Stop #832 in Oxford.

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $34.7 million for more than 29,000 workers in the food service industry. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports near record numbers of job openings and workers in the accommodations and food services industry quitting their jobs. 

“Employers who do not respect their workers’ rights will likely struggle to retain and recruit the people they need to remain competitive, as workers look for opportunities with employers that do,” Hall added.

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. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

For information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

PITTSBURGH – In return for providing essential homecare for people in need, 218 workers employed by a Pittsburgh-based home care agency expected their employer to pay them all their hard-earned wages. Instead, they found their employer denied them overtime wages, and manipulated records to hide the wage theft.     

Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in Pittsburgh, and litigation by the Regional Solicitor’s Office in Philadelphia, the department has obtained a consent judgment requiring that Everest Home Care LLC and owner Bhuwan Acharya pay more than $1.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages to the affected employees.

Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the employer paid workers a straight-time hourly rate instead of one-and-one-half their required rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. They also found the agency attempted to mask the wage theft by representing straight-time pay as overtime when overtime wages were required. Everest Home Care also failed to include recruitment commissions and hourly coronavirus hazard pay in employees’ required rates of pay when calculating overtime. All of these actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“Home healthcare workers provide vital services to people in need and their families,” said Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to enforcing worker protections and holding accountable employers who defy the law and deny workers the hard-earned wages on which they depend to care for themselves and their families.”

Entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Aug. 5, 2022, the consent judgement requires Everest Home Care and Acharya to pay $719,962 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

“Wage theft is an all-too-common concern in the healthcare industry, and we are determined to use our resources to hold employers who violate federal labor laws accountable to the fullest extent,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “By recovering wages and liquidated damages, when appropriate, for workers we send a clear message to employers in all industries that consequences can be costly for employers who flout the law.”  

In addition to back wages and damages, the division assessed $85,075 in civil money penalties given the willful nature of the employers’ FLSA violations.

In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $13.8 million for more than 17,000 healthcare industry workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there were more 1.9 million job openings in the healthcare and social assistance industry, and that more than 717,000 industry workers quit their jobs in May 2022 – all of which is forcing employers to compete hard to retain and recruit the people they need to operate.

“As the U.S. population ages rapidly, healthcare workers are in great demand and facing record burnout at the same time,” Looman added. “Healthcare industry employers who fail to respect workers’ rights are more likely to struggle than their competitors as they seek to attract and retain workers.”

Everest Home Care LLC provides personal assistance, home- and community-based services, and long-term living assistance. In addition to its Pittsburgh headquarters, the company operates a second location in Erie.

View the complaint and learn more about the consent judgment.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). 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 in more than 200 languages. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App, now available for android devices, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.