A federal investigation has found the operator of three Detroit-area residential nursing centers’ pay practices denied 45 managers their full and proper wages by regularly alternating the managers’ status from hourly to salary in an attempt to evade overtime obligations. The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $69,022 in back wages and damages owed to managers at Beaconshire Nursing Center, Westwood Nursing Center, and Chesaning Nursing Center — all owned and operated by Amee Patel — after finding the employer paid the managers hourly wages when they worked fewer than 40 hours in workweek and paid salaried wages when they exceeded 40 hours. By regularly alternating the managers’ status from hourly to salary, Patel voided their claim that the managers were overtime exempt.
The division assessed and received payment of $7,938 in civil money penalties for the employer’s repeat violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In 2018, federal investigators found Patel violated overtime regulations when she failed to pay drivers for all their travel and wait times. In 2015, Patel failed to pay employees for attending mandatory trainings. In total, the division recovered $17,173 in back wages for 12 Beaconshire Nursing Center employees, $14,205 in back wages for 21 employees at Westwood Nursing Center, and $3,133 in back wages for 12 employees at Chesaning Nursing Center. The employer also paid an equal amount in liquidated damages, for a total of $69,022. All the facilities provide skilled nursing, physical, and occupational therapy.
