A Michigan assisted living facility owner threatened employees with termination if they spoke with investigators during a federal investigation into the pay practices of the facility, according to a US Department of Labor (DOL) lawsuit filed on Feb. 3, 2023. The owner also attempted to trick an employee into admitting to cooperating with the investigation by falsely claiming that an investigator said the employee had filed a complaint.
The DOL’s complaint alleges that the facility and its owner violated federal laws that protect workers from retaliation by threatening employees for their perceived cooperation with the department’s investigation into alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The suit seeks a jury trial and the recovery of pay, and compensatory and punitive damages for the affected employee.
The suit follows an investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division that revealed the owner responded to the agency’s review of 18 months of the firm’s pay practices by regularly making threats of termination and attempting to identify employees whom she suspected had cooperated with the investigation. The division also alleges that the owner acted with hostility toward workers, ignored them, and refused to speak to them. Her retaliatory responses to the investigation led several employees to resign. Allegedly, the owner later contacted a prospective employer of one such employee and claimed that the employee had engaged in misconduct at the facility.
The division’s review of the facility’s payroll records from Aug. 16, 2020, through Dec. 12, 2021, alleged the company and the owner failed to pay the affected workers for breaks not taken because of work demands. By doing so, the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime provisions.
To resolve the wage violations, the department obtained a Jan. 17, 2023, consent judgment in federal court that requires the owner and facility to pay $15,238 in back wages and damages to six of the facility’s workers and to immediately comply with wage laws.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Retaliation occurs when an employer (including through a manager, supervisor, administrator, or possibly other persons) fires an employee or takes any other type of adverse action against an employee for engaging in protected activity. An adverse action is any action which could dissuade a reasonable employee from raising a concern about a possible violation or engaging in other related protected activity. Retaliation can have a negative impact on overall employee morale. The Fair Labor Standards Act’s anti-retaliation clause forbids any person from terminating or in any other manner discriminating against any employee because of such employee’s protected activities, including filing or cooperating with an investigation of the Wage and Hour Division.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on nonretaliation and the prohibited firing of or other negative actions against any employee in retaliation for reporting concerns or cooperating in investigations.
- Ensure that staff are aware of your nonretaliation policies and the steps they should take if they suspect wrongdoing, including the use of the anonymous Hotline to report incidents against themselves or their coworkers. Document that these trainings occurred, and file each signed document in the employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit staff understanding to ensure that they are aware of your policy of nonretaliation in the workplace and how to report any concerns. Review reports received to ensure they were addressed properly in a timely manner.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
