After an investigation by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Chelsea Health Care LLC has paid $81,399 in back wages to 45 employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements at its Columbus, Ohio, nursing home facility. The employer violated the FLSA’s overtime wage requirements when it paid licensed practical nurses and health aides straight time plus an additional $1 for each hour they worked beyond 40 in a workweek, instead of the required time-and-one-half the normal rate of pay for overtime. WHD’s investigation found the employer’s payroll company advised them to implement this unlawful pay method as a cost-saving measure. The business came into compliance immediately upon advice of their legal counsel and through the WHD’s investigation.
