US Department of Labor investigations found minimum wage, overtime violations

SACRAMENTO – An ongoing compliance initiative by the U.S. Department of Labor found that four Sacramento-area home care providers failed to pay employees overtime as required despite some working 24-hour shifts caring for those in need.

Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the home care employers shortchanged their employees and deprived them of their rightfully earned wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In total, the division recovered $500,854 in back wages and liquidated damages for 48 workers and assessed $26,469 in penalties.

Specifically, investigators found the following:

• Nwabeke Care Home, with three locations in Sacramento, and owners James and Theresa Nwabeke, Okwuchi Uzoma, Chukwuebuka Chikezie and Christopher Uzoma failed to pay required overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek. Instead, the employer paid straight time for all hours worked. The employer also incurred recordkeeping violations by not providing the required time records. The division recovered $33,556 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 10 employees and assessed $7,490 in penalties.
• Peer Home Inc. failed to combine the hours employees worked at three Elk Grove locations. By doing so, the employer did not pay overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to provide time records, as required. The division recovered...

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