During the ongoing pandemic, healthcare workers have risked their health and worked long hours on the frontline to care for others. Two Garland home healthcare agencies have been accused of failing to pay minimum and overtime wages, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Vital Home Health Care Inc. and Comfort Home Health Care Inc. allegedly violated FLSA’s minimum and overtime requirements by not paying workers for all the hours they worked and failing to pay for overtime hours.
The companies also reportedly violated FLSA’s recordkeeping requirements by failing to record all the hours their employees worked.
The US Department of Labor found that employees were paid straight time despite working over forty hours a week and were paid for hours scheduled rather than hours worked.
The Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor recovered over $1,218,320 in back wages for over 200 workers employed at the two home healthcare agencies.
In 2021, the Wage and Hour Division acted on over 24,700 violations of compliance nationwide and recovered over $230 million in earned back wages, with over $13.8 million being recovered for healthcare workers.
“The importance of home health care workers to the families they serve cannot be overstated. The Wage and Hour Division protects these essential workers and works tirelessly to ensure they are paid all of the wages they have earned,” said Acting Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division Jessica Looman. “We are also here to help responsible employers who follow the law and encourage them to reach out to us for confidential compliance assistance.”
The Dallas Express reached out to both Vital Home Health Care Inc. and Comfort Home Health Care Inc. for comment; however, neither company responded.
If you feel that you have been denied wages, you can contact the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division using their toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
All calls are confidential, and answers will be given regardless of immigration status. Agents can speak to callers in over 200 languages.