The US Department of Labor (DOL) has obtained a consent judgment in federal court requiring the operator of a home healthcare provider franchise in Golden Valley to pay $121,000 in back overtime wages and liquidated damages to 25 certified nursing and patient care assistants after a federal investigation found the employer denied them overtime pay. On May 22, 2023, US District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson for the District of Minnesota entered a consent judgment in which Getch Inc. — operating as Amada Senior Care Twin Cities — and its owner, Gregory B. Getchell, agreed to pay the monies owed to the affected employees. The order also forbids the employers from future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court’s action follows a review of Amada Senior Care Twin Cities’ employment practices by the department’s Wage and Hour Division from Oct. 9, 2019, to Oct. 6, 2021. Investigators found Getch Inc. violated federal law by paying a flat daily rate to workers who provided live-in assistance with self-care and daily living activities. By doing so, the employer failed to pay overtime as required when the employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. The division also alleged that the employer’s pay records gave the appearance that overtime had been paid when it had not been paid. The division further asserted Getch misapplied rules exempting employees from eligibility for overtime pay and failed to pay overtime wages owed to an Amada Senior Care Twin Cities office worker. These actions violated the FLSA’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions.
