A Philadelphia-based federal court ordered a home care agency and its owner to pay more than $7 million in back wages and liquidated damages to 1,230 current and former employees.
On May 12, Judge Chad F. Kenney, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, found Nursing Home Care Management Inc., operating as Prestige Home Care Agency, and its owner, Alexander Dorfman, owned $3,538,360 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the impacted employees, according to a June 2 news release.
“Unfortunately, our investigators found yet another Philadelphia-area home health agency willfully shortchanging employees and skirting the law,” Wage and Hour Division District Director James Cain said in the release. “In this case, Prestige Home Care Agency denied 1,230 current and former employees more than $3.5 million in wages they earned for putting in long hours to help vulnerable people in our community.”
The court found Prestige Home Care Agency violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by willfully failing to pay the required overtime rate for hours above 40 in a work week, failing to keep accurate time and payroll records and segregating the types of work performed by certain employees during a work week.
In June 2021, the DOL's Office of the Solicitor filed a lawsuit against Prestige Home Care Agency to recover the back wages and owed liquidated damages. In response, Judge Kenney ruled in the DOL's favor, affirming the violation of the FLSA and prohibiting future violations, according to the release.
“The court’s judgment affirms the Department of Labor’s position that home care employers must pay employees for travel time, which is an essential part of their job duties,” Deputy Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas said in the release. “The outcome in this case serves as a stark reminder to other homecare employers that the consequences for shortchanging employees can be costly, both to the company’s bottom line and to its industry reputation.”
Established in 1995, Prestige Home Care Agency provides various medical and non-medical home care services to clients throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, the release said.
The investigation was conducted by the Wage and Hour Division's Philadelphia District Office, and the case was litigated by trial attorneys Brian Krier and Sharon McKenna with the DOL's Philadelphia Regional Solicitor's Office, according to the release.
More information about the FLSA and home care industry regulations can be found by contacting the Wage and Hour Division's toll-free helpline or by using the DOL's free timesheet app, available in English and Spanish for accurate record-keeping, the release reported.
