A Pennsylvania nursing home has been ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to pay more than $1.1 million in back wages and damages to 193 employees.
Nursing Care in Home LLC, operating as Meridius Health in Lancaster, is ordered to pay $579,477 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers for denying them overtime pay, according to an April 18 U.S. Department of Labor news release. The court ordered payment of the back wages and damages by the company and its owner, Rustam Suvanidze.
“The Wage and Hour Division will not tolerate the exploitation of care workers or attempts to circumvent federal overtime laws,” Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said, according to the release. "Home care workers deliver essential services on a daily basis, and their work is vital to the well-being of the people they serve."
Another $37,921 in civil money penalties was assessed by the department for the willful nature of the violations. Investigators found the employees were paid straight time for all hours worked, the release reported. Bonuses and hazard pay were not factored into the employees’ rate of pay when computing overtime.
“This enforcement action goes a long way to ensure that the healthcare workers employed by Meridius Health receive all of their hard-earned wages, including overtime pay,” Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said, according to the release.
