The US Marshals Service facilitated the seizure of $126,250 in back wages and liquidated damages and $22,413 in attorney’s fees from the corporate bank account of a New London home healthcare provider after the employers reneged on a payment agreement and defied orders from the US District Court for the District of Connecticut. The US Department of Labor sued Care at Home and owners Daniel Karp and Suzanne Karp in April 2018 after an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division determined they violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime to home healthcare employees and taking improper deductions for food and lodging from employees’ wages. On Sept. 17, 2021, the court entered a consent judgment ordering the defendants to pay $126,250 in back wages and liquidated damages to 51 employees within 30 days.
Previously, on Jan. 7, 2021, the court had ordered defendants to pay $22,413 in attorneys’ fees to the department by Jan. 28, 2021 because of defendants’ actions in the discovery phase of the litigation. In both cases, the defendants failed to make any payments despite the court’s orders and additional notices from the department. The defendants’ actions led the department to seek and obtain a contempt order against the defendants, fining them $100 per business day until they are no longer in contempt. The department also obtained a writ of execution to authorize removal of the back wages, liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees from the defendants’ corporate bank account. The US Marshals Service carried out the writ at Care at Home’s bank on Dec. 14, 2021. The division will distribute the back wages and liquidated damages to the affected workers.
