Michigan nursing home owner owes $69K for not paying overtime to managers
(CBS DETROIT) - Federal officials say the owner of three Metro Detroit nursing homes owes $69,000 after she changed 45 managers' status from hourly to salary to avoid paying overtime obligations.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Amee Patel allegedly paid the managers hourly when they worked less than 40 hours and changed their status to salary when they worked over 40 hours. This voided the claim that the managers were overtime exempt.
Investigators uncovered $69,022 in back wages and damages.
Patel owned and operated Beaconshire Nursing Center and Westwood Nursing Center in Detroit and Chesaning Nursing Center in Chesaning, Saginaw County.
The Wage and Hour Divison recovered $17,173 in back wages for 12 employees at Beaconshire Nursing Center, $14,205 for 21 Westwood Nursing Center employees, and $3,133 in wages for 12 employees at Chesaning Nursing Center.
Patel also paid an equal amount in liquidated damages.
"Business operators cannot casually decide to pay workers as salaried in some weeks and hourly in others. By doing so, Amee Patel clearly violated federal laws by denying workers at her healthcare facilities all their hard-earned pay," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell in a press release.
"Caregivers employed in the residential care industry provide our family members and neighbors with vital support, therapy and daily living assistance. The owner of these Detroit area nursing centers' put her bottom line before the needs of healthcare workers, making it more difficult for them to care for themselves and their families."
Federal investigators say it is not the first time that Patel violated overtime payment regulations.
She failed to pay employees for attending mandatory training in 2015. Three years later, she failed to pay drivers for other travel and wait times. The division assessed and received $7,938 in civil money penalties for the repeated violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In fiscal year 2022, the division's Detroit district office recovered nearly $2.2 million in back wages and liquidated damages for nearly 3,000 workers. Officials say nearly $500,000 of that money was owed to healthcare workers.
"Overtime violations are all-too-common in the healthcare industry. Today's workers are looking for employers who value them, pay their full wages and guarantee their workplace rights. Employers who comply with labor laws and appreciate the dignity of work will have the greatest appeal to new workers or those looking for new opportunities," Mitchell said.