The owner of a Michigan senior home care services company is looking at jail time for failing to provide U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigators with time and pay records. The owner, Rosie Guthrie, has been held in contempt of court since September 27 for refusing to comply with a federal court order.
This incident was initiated by the business proprietor's non-compliance earlier this year. According to a DOL press release, a federal court ordered the proprietor of the business in March to provide the documentation. If she continues to ignore the court order, she will be arrested as she has been in contempt of court since Sept. 27 and has been fined $250 for every day that she has ignored the order.
Adding further weight to this decision, there was an official directive from a high-ranking judicial authority. U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman of the Eastern District of Michigan directed the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest Rosie Guthrie, owner of Genesis Homecare Services, on Nov. 28 until she provides the documents that are being requested and cooperates with investigators, according to the DOL media release.
A representative from the Department of Labor highlighted their legal rights and insisted on compliance with subpoenas. "The court has upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s authority to investigate and obtain information about wages, hours and other employment practices and question employees to determine if an employer is complying with federal law. The court has ordered Rosie Guthrie confined until she complies with the court’s orders and produces the documents that will allow the department to complete its compliance review," said Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago. "Complying with administrative subpoenas issued by the department is not optional, and the department will pursue all avenues to enforce the law."
The DOL originally filed a lawsuit in federal court in November 2022 after Guthrie declined to obey the department’s Wage and Hour Division requests for paperwork needed for an investigation, according to the DOL press release. On March 15, Guthrie and Genesis Homecare Services was ordered by the court to obey the department’s administrative subpoena.
An official warns of serious consequences of non-compliance and hints at a broader scope of investigation within the industry. "The opening of a Wage and Hour Division investigation does not mean we will find violations. By refusing to cooperate, Rosie Guthrie now faces imprisonment," said Regional Wage and Hour Administrator Michael Lazzeri in Chicago. "Our investigation of Genesis Homecare Services is part of our broader focus on the home care staffing industry — one in which we often identify violations — to protect the rights of women and people in marginalized communities employed in the industry who depend on every dollar they earn."
