Evading Overtime

The US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division accuses the owner of three Michigan nursing homes owe more than $69,000 in back wages after regularly switching the employment status of 45 managers from hourly to salaried to evade overtime pay. Owner Amee Patel paid hourly wages when the managers worked fewer than 40 hours per week but paid salaried wages when the workers exceeded 40 hours.

The division also assessed $7,938 in civil penalties for repeated violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A 2018 investigation found Patel failed to pay drivers for all travel and wait times. In addition, she failed to pay employees for attending mandatory trainings in 2015.