U.S. Department of Labor files lawsuit against home health care provider for failing to pay overtime
MINNEAPOLIS -- The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against a Golden Valley health care company after it allegedly failed to pay overtime to nursing and patient care assistants.
An investigation revealed that Gregory Getchell, owner of Getch, Inc. and operator of Amada Senior Care Twin Cities, violated federal law by paying a flat daily rate to employees who provided live-in assistance with self care and daily living activities. Getchell failed to pay his employees overtime, and instead altered employee pay records to make it appear as if overtime had been paid, the department of labor says.
The lawsuit is seeking roughly $75,000 in back wages for the 25 impacted employees.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found in June of 2022 that 728,000 health care and social services workers left their positions, and the field had more than 2 million openings. The health care sector is projected to grow 16 percent from 2020 to 2030.
"As industry employers struggle to find people to fill the jobs needed to remain competetivie, they must take into account that retaining and recruiting workers is more difficult when employers fail to respect workers' rights and pay them their full wage," said Wage and Hour Division District Director Kristin Tout.