A federal judge found a Michigan home healthcare provider liable to pay 23 workers a total of $93,331 after it failed to comply with a change in the law to pay companion workers overtime wages, the United States Department of Labor announced Wednesday.
The company, Independent Home Care of Michigan LLC, is based in the city of Fenton and has services extending from Lapeer to Shiawassee counties. It provides companionship services to individuals with mental, intellectual and developmental disabilities.
A companion worker includes babysitters, cooks, waiters, maids, housekeepers, nannies, nurses, janitors, caretakers, handymen, gardeners, home health aides and more, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The company's owners Mary Clark and Kathryn Flick failed to pay companion services workers their overtime wages from Jan. 23, 2018, through June 1, 2019, according to investigators for the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor in a press release.
Investigators also found that Independent Home Care of Michigan LLC failed to keep accurate records of hours worked and rates of pay for work performed, which are violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to ensure employers comply with the law and will take all necessary actions to hold them responsible," Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago said in the release. "The department is often the only advocate for workers denied their rightful wages and...
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