The U.S. Department of Labor reported that it has obtained a default judgment to recover $703,609 in back wages and liquidated damages for 38 employees denied overtime pay by a Chesapeake, Virginia home healthcare company and its owner who officials said also retaliated against workers for cooperating with federal investigators.
In its Sept. 1, 2022, judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found that Heavenly Hands Home Healthcare LLC and owner, Lauren Wilson, must pay the back wages and damages to the home healthcare workers for its violations of federal law.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division said its investigation found the employer and the company’s owner “willfully failed to maintain accurate records of all hours worked and paid straight time for hours worked over 40 in a work week, failing to pay the required overtime premium.”
The DOL also told the court that the employer warned workers not to speak with department investigators, and falsified employees’ signatures on official payment and payroll receipt records— actions officials. said violated the anti-retaliation and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In June, DOL filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to enforce the workers’ rights under the FLSA, recover owed wages, prevent Heavenly Hands and its owner from obstructing the investigation or retaliating against employees, and requiring the employer to provide payroll records. On June 30, 2022, the court granted the department’s preliminary injunction motion.
The DOL’s Richmond district office conducted the investigation.
Topics Virginia
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