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U.S. Department of Labor Investigation
Results in North Carolina Healthcare Agency Paying $90,640 in
Back Wages and Damages to Employees
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL),
Care Providers of Wilmington, Inc. - a healthcare agency located
in Wilmington, North Carolina - has recently paid $90,640 in
back wages and liquidated damages to 21 employees for violating
minimum wage, overtime and other record keeping violations of
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
DOL investigators determined that the agency failed to pay employees
for travel time between patients’ homes when they visited
more than one client in a day. Instead, employees were paid only
for the time spent in each client’s home. The employer
also incorrectly classified some employees as independent contractors
when they worked more than 40 hours within a one week period
of time. These practices resulted in FLSA violations when the
employer failed to pay its employees overtime for any hours over
40 that they worked in a one week period.
Additionally, the employer violated FLSA record keeping requirements
when it failed to maintain accurate payroll records which reflected
the actual number of hours employees worked each day and week
and the amounts of wages paid to each employee.
The FLSA has the following payroll record keeping requirements
for all employers:
- Employee’s full name and SSN
- Employee’s address including
zip code
- Birth date (if younger than 19)
- Sex and occupation
- Time and day of the week when the workweek
begins
- Total hours worked each day
- Total hours worked each workweek
- Basis on which each employee
is paid
- Regular hourly rate of pay
- Total daily or weekly straight time
earnings
- Total overtime earnings for each week
- All additions to or deductions
from wages
- Total wages paid to each employee each pay period
- Date of payment
and the pay period covered by the payment
The DOL recovered a
record $322 million in back wages owed to workers in Fiscal Year
2019.
A company’s best defense against
the potential expense and aggravation related to federal or state
law violations is to proactively review and revise as needed
all Human Resources policies, handbooks, hiring procedures, compensation,
benefits, training programs, communications tools and other functions.
The professionals of PHHR are ready to assist your organization
with this type of training as well as to maintain compliance
with the latest state and federal mandates.
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