A Honolulu addiction treatment center was ordered to pay nearly half a million dollars in back wages to 34 care workers to remedy illegal pay practices.
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Kline Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1960 that operates Sand Island Treatment Center on Kaaahi Street in Honolulu, was ordered to pay $451,989, according to the department's March 16 news release.
"People who provide care and valuable assistance in healthcare facilities deserve to be paid for their hard work and for the essential services they deliver to people in need," Honolulu-based DOL Wage and Hour Division District Director Terence Trotter said in the news release. "The Wage and Hour Division will ensure employers, such as Sand Island Treatment Center, meet their obligations under the law to the caregivers and workers who depend on their wages to care for themselves and their families."
The center reportedly paid some of the workers who provided patient care and other services as little as $400 per month, according to the news release. It also did not keep accurate payroll records. The DOL investigation found the workers were not paid the minimum wage and overtime for all hours worked and that the center failed to keep payroll records, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The workers included substance use disorder counselors in addition to kitchen, clerical, maintenance and administrative staff, who worked 41 and 63 hours in a workweek, the news release reported. Some of the workers were misclassified as staff trainees who learn from existing full-time employees while waiting for a job to open.
Kline Welsh Behavioral Health Foundation also was assessed with $10,000 in civil penalties and is required to submit a Compliance Action Plan to DOL's Wage and Hour division, affirming the steps the foundation will take to insure FLSA compliance.
