Labor Department says home health care owner withheld wages
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The owner of two home health care companies in Indianapolis withheld over $84,000 in wages, U.S. Department of Labor claims.
Hahn March, owner of Signal Health Group Inc. and SHG Employee Leasing Co., is under the eye of the Department of Labor for a second time, being previously cited in 2018 for not paying overtime to the employees at Aging and Disabled Home Healthcare in Indiana.
March and the company’s Chief Financial Officer Nancy Stanley are said to have used a scheme to pay lower hourly rates and withholding $84,427 in overtime wages.
In addition to paying an artificially low pay rate, division investigators found the employers violated federal regulations by doing the following:
- Failing to combine hours to calculate overtime worked for joint employers.
- Not paying employees for time spent traveling between job sites during the workday.
- Denying some employees overtime pay by incorrectly categorizing them as exempt from overtime requirements.
- Failing to maintain complete and accurate time records.
The Department of Labor is seeking $172,854 in back wages and for damages for 43 current and former employees. They are also asking the court to issue an order forbidding March and Stanley from future Fair Labor Standards Act violations.
In a press release, Regional Solicitor of Labor Christine Heri in Chicago said, “The Department of Labor has asked the U.S. District Court to recover wages denied to these workers by their employers and to serve notice that trying to evade responsibilities in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act will not be tolerated. When employers attempt to devise workarounds to avoid paying workers the wages they have rightfully earned, the department will seek to hold them accountable in court.”
Signal Health Group works under the name Signal Health Group Assisted Care @ Home to provide clients with housekeeping services like errands and bathing assistance.
Aaron Loomisin, wage and hour division district director in Indianapolis, said in the release, “Employees who work in home healthcare – one of our nation’s lowest-paying professions – provide necessary daily and hospice care that allows individuals to remain in their homes and aids them in navigating their basic needs, providing dignity and comfort to clients and their families. The Department of Labor is committed to protecting workers’ rights and holding employers accountable for violating federal law.”
