When an employer shortchanges home healthcare workers they hurt the workers, their families and the people for whom they care. In the case of a Harrisburg home healthcare company, a US Department of Labor investigation has remedied overtime violations involving 242 workers and recovered $1,566,457 in hard-earned wages owed to them. The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Neoly Home Care LLC manipulated pay rates to create the appearance that they paid overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek. In fact, Neoly paid straight-time wages for all the hours employees worked, regardless of the number of hours worked per week. Neoly paid a lower hourly rate when employees worked more hours. While appearing to pay time-and-a-half for overtime hours, Neoly actually paid employees approximately the same rate for all hours worked in both overtime and non-overtime workweeks. This scheme violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires payment for overtime hours at time-and-one-half workers’ regular rates. In addition to the back wages recovered, the division assessed $46,376 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations. The recovery affects workers in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Scranton, and in St. Louis.
