Federal wage and hour officials have trained their attention on healthcare employers in the Southeastern United States – and we expect this scrutiny to continue into the new year. The past year alone saw the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division conduct nearly 400 investigations and recover more than $4.1 million in back wages and liquidated damages for over 2,000 care employees in the southeast. What are some steps you can take to make sure you avoid such problems and stay up to speed with wage and hour compliance in 2025?

Some Quick Background

The Wage and Hour Division is continuing an initiative focusing on investigating the healthcare industry, including residential care facilities, nursing facilities, and home health providers, for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The initiative targets nationwide violations but has particularly focused on healthcare employers in the Southeastern United States.

Most recently, the Wage and Hour Division announced it had recovered more than $114,000 in civil money penalties – beyond the amount of back wages and liquidated damages – for fiscal year 2024. The DOL’s efforts include making presentations to educate employers and employees about wage and hour laws and how they apply to the healthcare industry in particular. Recent press releases also highlight the misclassification of home care workers as independent contractors and unpaid overtime by an assisted living facility.

The monetary amounts and enforcement...

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