On Tuesday, it was announced that a Philadelphia-based home care provider has been ordered by the Department of Labor to pay over $229,000 for denying overtime pay to several of its employees.
Blue Ridge Home Care, a provider of companion, homemaker, personal care, and live-in home care services across Pennsylvania’s Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties, as well as in the state of Delaware, has been directed to pay $129,697 in back wages and damages to 66 employees for willfully denying them overtime. The Department of Labor (DOL) confirmed the provider’s wrongdoing. The company had also given $100,000 to the same workers before the DOL’s judgment.
In a recent development, Tunji Ogunmola, the President of Blue Ridge, has confessed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that he convinced his staff members to accept an additional hourly payment of $1 to $1.50 instead of overtime pay. As a result of this violation, the court has imposed a penalty of $49,434 on Blue Ridge, which is to be paid to the DOL in civil money.
James Cain, the district director of the DOL Wage and Hour Division in Philadelphia, stated that their investigations revealed that Blue Ridge Home Care Inc. had refused to pay overtime wages to dozens of their aides. As a result, they have taken action to recover an average of over $3,400 in back wages and liquidated damages for each of the 66 affected workers.
During the fiscal year 2023, the DOL has successfully retrieved over $31.7 million in back wages for healthcare workers. Infractions committed by home care providers are commonly cited. In July, several providers, including Axis Home PCA Agency, Southern Care Connection, Gentiva, and the owner of a Comfort Keepers franchise, were cited for violations related to wages or labor.
Angelo Spinola, a Polsinelli shareholder, recently provided guidance for home care providers on how to navigate Department of Labor (DOL) scrutiny. Violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, such as not paying employees minimum wage and failing to keep records of work hours, are common practices that should be avoided.
