After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Miami, Florida-based dialysis service companies – Olympus Healthcare Inc., Apollo Renal Center LLC, and Americare Renal Center LLC – will pay $110,819 in back wages to 34 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The Department of Labor investigation determined that these companies incorrectly classified some employees as independent contractors and paid them a flat fee per patient seen regardless of the number of hours they worked. This practice of paying a flat fee per patient resulted in a violation because when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek they were not paid overtime. The employer’s failure to keep a record of the number of hours employees worked also resulted in a recordkeeping violation.
Companies often deprive workers of overtime by paying them on a day rate, salary rate, or straight time after 40 hours. If you work more than 40 hours per week and are being paid a weekly salary, then you are being cheated out of your overtime pay. If you are paid a day rate and work over 40 hours per week, then you are being cheated out of your overtime pay. If you are paid at the same regular hourly rate for hours worked over 40 per week, then you are being cheated out of your overtime pay.
“Employees must be paid all the wages they have legally earned,” said a Department of Labor spokesman. If you believe you are a victim of wage theft or owed overtime pay, please call the attorneys at Pechman Law Group at 212-583-9500 to schedule a free consultation to discuss your labor rights.
