The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania has had a historic day, by deciding on a landmark case that awarded $35.8m in back wages.
The case revolved around complaints regarding 6,000 former and current employees at multiple healthcare clinics in the state. The court’s decision was not in favor of CEO Samuel “Sam” Halper and CHMS Group, who ran the fifteen sites.
It has been judged that these facilities, comprised of assisted living, rehabilitation, and skilled nursing centers across western Pennsylvania were in breach of employment regulations.
Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said, “The U.S. District Court’s decisive and historic ruling that Sam Halper and his nursing facilities willfully violated labor laws affirmed the Department of Labor’s position that the employers committed wage theft intentionally.”
Pennsylvania healthcare employers judged to have broken the rules
The trial, according the the Department of Labor “featured 50 testifying witnesses and more than 600 exhibits,” before the decision was reached.
After an investigation by federal parties, including the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division, it was found that the employer breached the Fair Labor Standards Act. Halper and the facilities did so, according to the court documentation, by:
- Willfully failing to pay employees for all hours worked, including work done during meal breaks.
- Failing to incorporate all promised compensation, including non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials, when calculating overtime pay.
- Avoiding paying overtime by incorrectly treating employees as exempt from the act’s overtime requirements.
- Not keeping accurate records of hours employees worked and compensation due for those hours.
The thirteen-day trial resulted in a landmark financial penalty for Halper and CHMS Group to the tune of $35.8 million. This would be a retroactive financial payment to the Pennsylvanian employees affected.
Nada concluded, “The outcome of the department’s investigation and litigation also shows our unwavering commitment to enforcing the employee protections in the Fair Labor Standards Act and ensuring employers fulfill their obligation to comply with the law.”
Image: Pixlr.
