[US] Historic $35.8M recovery judgement after Pennsylvania healthcare wage theft

In one of the largest wage recovery judgements in US history, a Pennsylvania federal court has awarded $35.8 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 6,000 current and former healthcare workers, U.S. Department of Labor reports. 

The workers were employed by the operators of 15 residential skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities in western Pennsylvania found to have willfully denied them overtime pay.

The July 22, 2024, judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania followed a 13-day bench trial. It was reportedly the department’s latest step to recoup wages and damages, jointly and severally, from the 15 nursing facilities, owner and CEO Samuel “Sam” Halper and CHMS Group, the payroll office that the defendants used to oversee and implement their illegal compensation practices. 

The action comes after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Pittsburgh and litigation by its Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia.

“Far too often, our investigations find that workers who provide essential care services to those who need them most are not receiving their hard-earned wages from employers,” Jessica Looman - Wage and Hour Administrator - said. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting workers’ rights to be paid fully and fairly and holding employers who violate these rights accountable.”

Department investigators discovered that the employers had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act for years, across their enterprise, by:

• Willfully failing to pay employees for all hours worked, including work carried out 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 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,” Seema Nanda - Solicitor of Labor - said. “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.”

The employers and their owners reportedly operate residential skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities throughout western Pennsylvania.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

(LInk and quotes via original reporting)

In one of the largest wage recovery judgements in US history, a Pennsylvania federal court has awarded $35.8 million in overtime back wages and liquidated damages to 6,000 current and former healthcare workers, U.S. Department of Labor reports. 

The workers were employed by the operators of 15 residential skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities in western Pennsylvania found to have willfully denied them overtime pay.

The July 22, 2024, judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania followed a 13-day bench trial. It was reportedly the department’s latest step to recoup wages and damages, jointly and severally, from the 15 nursing facilities, owner and CEO Samuel “Sam” Halper and CHMS Group, the payroll office that the defendants used to oversee and implement their illegal compensation practices. 

The action comes after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in Pittsburgh and litigation by its Office of the Solicitor in Philadelphia.

“Far too often, our investigations find that workers who provide essential care services to those who need them most are not receiving their hard-earned wages from employers,” Jessica Looman - Wage and Hour Administrator - said. “The Wage and Hour Division is committed to protecting workers’ rights to be paid fully and fairly and holding employers who violate these rights accountable.”

Department investigators discovered that the employers had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act for years, across their enterprise, by:

• Willfully failing to pay employees for all hours worked, including work carried out 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 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,” Seema Nanda - Solicitor of Labor - said. “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.”

The employers and their owners reportedly operate residential skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities throughout western Pennsylvania.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

(LInk and quotes via original reporting)