NORFOLK, VA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has issued a preliminary injunction against a Chesapeake home healthcare provider to prevent the employer from obstructing a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, retaliating against employees who cooperate with investigators and demanding kickbacks of back wages assessed by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.
The court’s action also requires Heavenly Hands Home Healthcare LLC to provide the department with payroll records – including time and attendance records from July 10, 2018 through the present – and provide notice to all employees regarding their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act, including their right to speak to investigators without repercussion. In addition, the employer may not ask current or former employees whether they spoke to the department’s representatives.
“Workers must feel empowered to step forward to complain whenever employers deny them wages they have earned – the law prohibits retaliation or intimidation for speaking up,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Roberto Melendez in Richmond, Virginia.
The injunction is the latest move by the department following the Wage and Hour Division’s determination that Heavenly Hands Home Healthcare denied its workers overtime payments and failed to maintain appropriate records of hours worked from at least July 10, 2019, through July 7, 2021. In response, the employer agreed to pay $413,382 back wages and...
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