Megan K. Mechak
Thu, 02/24/2022
The Department of Labor recently announced two settlements addressing overtime violations for home health care workers in Texas and Louisiana. In both cases, the employer failed to pay workers who provided home healthcare services overtime, paying them straight time for all hours worked, instead of paying them time and one-half of their hourly rates for hours worked over 40 in a week. In Texas, the DOL recovered $68,919 in backpay (and an equal amount in liquidated damages) on behalf of 71 workers, and in Louisiana, the Agency recovered $79,529 in back wages for 39 workers. These settlements follow a new DOL initiative, enhancing education, outreach, and enforcement efforts to ensure the rights of professional caregivers are protected. For our coverage of this initiative, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/news/dol-launches-new-initiative-ensure-homecare-workers-rights-are-protected.
MSE has worked to ensure that home healthcare workers are properly paid for years, learning through our work with SEIU Local 1199 that many agencies providing home health services to Medicaid recipients in the District of Columbia may be violating their workers’ rights. For more information on MSE’s efforts to secure the wage and hour rights of D.C homecare workers, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/private-employees/dc-homecare-workers.
For more information on common wage and hour violations, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/common-violations. If you believe your employer has failed to properly compensate you, including failing to pay you time and one-half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, contact MSE at info@mselaborlaw.com.
