In one of the nation’s largest wage theft recoveries, a Pennsylvania federal court has awarded $35.8 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 6,000 current and former health care workers employed by the operators of 15 residential skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities in western Pennsylvania that willfully denied them overtime pay.
After a 13-day trial, the Pennsylvania federal court found the nursing homes jointly and severally liable for illegal compensation practices. The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Pittsburgh and litigation by its Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia.
“Far too often, our investigations find that workers who provide essential care services to those who need them most are not receiving their hard-earned wages from employers,” said a Department of Labor spokesperson. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting workers’ rights to be paid fully and fairly and holding employers who violate these rights accountable.”
The Department of Labor investigators discovered that the employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act for years across their enterprise by doing the following:
- Willfully failing to pay employees for all hours worked, including work done during meal breaks.
- Failing to incorporate all promised compensation, including non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials, when calculating overtime pay.
- Avoiding paying overtime by incorrectly treating employees as exempt from the act’s overtime requirements.
- Not keeping accurate records of hours employees worked and compensation due for those hours.
“The U.S. District Court’s decisive and historic ruling that Sam Halper and his nursing facilities willfully violated labor laws affirmed the Department of Labor’s position that the employers committed wage theft intentionally,” said Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda. “The outcome of the department’s investigation and litigation also shows our unwavering commitment to enforcing the employee protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act and ensuring employers fulfill their obligation to comply with the law.”
If you believe you are a victim of wage theft or have questions about your rights as a worker, contact the attorneys of Pechman Law Group at 212-583-9500.
