Two Texas home-health companies failed to pay workers for the hours they worked and overtime, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a news release.
Vital Home Health Care Inc. and Comfort Home Health Care Inc. violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements, the agency said.
“The importance of home health care workers to the families they serve cannot be overstated," Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman, said in a statement. "The Wage and Hour Division protects these essential workers and works tirelessly to ensure they are paid all of the wages they have earned. We are also here to help responsible employers who follow the law and encourage them to reach out to us for confidential compliance assistance."
Workers were paid regular time even when they exceeded 40 hours a week, the news release said.
"Several employees were paid for scheduled hours and not actual hours worked, leading to FLSA minimum wage and overtime violations," the news release said.
The Labor Department investigation recovered $1.2 million in back wages for 202 workers, the agency said.
"Many home healthcare workers performed their jobs heroically in the face of challenges and risks presented by the global pandemic," the news release said. "Yet, their efforts were undercut by industry employers who failed to pay them for the essential, sometimes life-saving work performed."
