Court orders Philadelphia home care provider to pay more than $7M in back wages

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

The U.S. Labor Department  (DOL) has been investigating numerous violations by home healthcare companies accused of failing to pay overtime. Additionally Nurses, Therapists, aides and direct care workers traveling between clients during a workday are entitled to travel time under DOL Travel Time law.

Working in Philadelphia area home care for the past 30+ years, I'm familiar with this home care agency;  at one time they had many Russian speaking nurses,  advertise that staff speaks 240+ languages --  sure many employees unfamiliar with U.S.  Department of Labor Wage and Hour laws regarding time, travel and overtime.   This is the second Philadelphia area agency fined  in 2023 for violating federal wage and hour laws.

Now working as a nurse consultant for a home care agency providing direct care workers under PA's Home and Community Services  wavier program predominately paid by Medicaid HMO payers, included in this springs Quality Improvement meeting minutes that I reviewed and confirmed with administrator,  agency required and is paying overtime and mileage.

 

Philadelphia Inquirer June 2, 2023

Philadelphia home-care agency ordered to pay $7M in back wages for uncompensated travel time

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Prestige Home Care agency was ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in back wages to 1,230 current and former employees and an equal amount in liquidated damages, which are generally intended to discourage employers from underpaying workers....

Prestige had failed to pay some employees for travel time, which sometimes meant that their total pay dipped below minimum wage for actual hours on the job, the U.S. Department of Labor had alleged. Travel sometimes took an hour or more and resulted in workers actually logging more than 40 hours of work weekly, so they should have received overtime pay, the department said...

 

DOL Wage and Hour Division News Release

June 2, 2023

Court orders Philadelphia home care provider to pay more than $7M in back wages, damages after denying overtime to 1,230 current, former employees

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The court found that Prestige Home Care Agency willfully did the following:

• Failed to pay the required overtime rate for hours over 40 in a workweek by not paying home health aides for time spent traveling between clients' homes in the same workday and between Prestige's administrative office and clients' homes in the same workday.
• Paid certain employees straight-time hourly rates for all hours worked, including for hours over 40 in a workweek.
• Segregated types of work performed by certain employees during a workweek rather than combining all hours worked when computing overtime wages due.
• Failed to keep accurate time and payroll records as required by law

Contact your local DOL Wage and Hour Division office for advice along with state agency for state-specific regulations.

One can file a complaint with US. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division when attempts to get payment for hours worked/overtime denied by an employer:  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints

 

Prior story:  Willow Grove-based health-care company that dodged overtime pay now owes workers $3.8M