A federal court has entered a consent judgment requiring a Philadelphia home care agency and its owner to pay more than $410,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 55 employees after an investigation and litigation by the US Department of Labor. The action by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that determined Alma Conway Home Care LLC and its owner Sara Tucker paid some home care workers straight-time rates of pay for all hours worked — including for hours over 40 in a workweek — denying them the required overtime rates. The division also learned the company employed a scheme to manipulate wage rates. Specifically, Alma Conway Home Care LLC lowered employees’ regular hourly rates when they worked overtime hours, which caused them to be paid less than their required overtime rates and made employee payroll records inaccurate.
After the employers refused to resolve their Fair Labor Standards Act violations by paying the back wages and damages due, the department’s Office of the Solicitor filed a complaint in November 2022. On March 29, 2023, the court entered a consent judgment that requires payment of $205,434 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers. The judgment also requires the payment of $25,740 in civil money penalties for the intentional nature of the employers’ violations. The order also forbids the home care agency from future FLSA violations.
