The US Department of Labor (DOL) announced on January 9, 2024, that it had filed a complaint in federal court in Boston, alleging that 25 Massachusetts skilled nursing facilities in 21 communities intentionally withheld overtime wages to least 624 employees and failed to maintain accurate employment records. The action in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division of the pay practices of the nursing home operator and its owners.
The Department alleges that at all of the company’s Massachusetts facilities, they automatically deducted 30 minutes from employees’ hours worked for meal breaks and regularly permitted employees to work through those breaks. Based on those practices, the complaint alleges that the employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay employees all wages due at each employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours the employees worked, and failing to pay employees the required FLSA overtime rate for all hours worked over 40 in each workweek.
In its complaint, the Department seeks to recover unpaid regular rate and overtime wages earned in overtime workweeks from Sept. 27, 2018, through at least Sept. 14, 2021, plus liquidated damages equal to the amount of wages found due. It also asks the court to restrain the employers from committing future violations of the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions.
“Denying full wages, including overtime, to people who provide skilled nursing services to those in need in our communities makes it harder for these workers to care for themselves and their families,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Carlos Matos in Boston. “Deliberately shortchanging employees’ wages, as alleged in this case, is truly unfair and illegal, and can have very costly consequences for employers who mistakenly believe they can avoid their legal responsibilities.”
Compliance Perspective
Issue
The FLSA sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards for employment subject to its provisions. Unless exempt, covered employees must be paid at least the minimum wage and not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for overtime hours worked. Hours worked ordinarily include all the time during which an employee is required to be on the employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace. Every covered employer must keep certain records for each non-exempt worker. The Act requires no particular form for the records, but does require that the records include certain identifying information about the employee and data about the hours worked and the wages earned. The law requires this information to be accurate.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on fair wages, overtime pay eligibility, and recordkeeping. Update if needed.
- Train all staff with responsibility for determining fair wages, overtime pay eligibility, and recordkeeping so that they are knowledgeable about your policies and procedures to ensure they comply with federal and state requirements. Document that these trainings occurred, and file each signed document in the employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure compliance with minimum wage laws, and that overtime pay eligibility and recordkeeping are accurate and being reported correctly.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
