Home care provider owes $3.8 million after cheating 433 workers out of pay, feds say

A home care provider cheated hundreds of workers out of fair compensation for their labor, and now the company must pay $3.8 million, federal officials said.

TriMED Healthcare LLC and its owner, Beverly Jordan, “intentionally denied” overtime pay to at least 433 employees over several years, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a Jan. 10 news release.

The Pennsylvania-based company provides in-home care and assistance to clients in communities across much of the state, court documents say.

TriMED’s employees were paid between $7.25 and $14 an hour and, under federal law, should earn that wage plus an extra 50% for every hour of overtime worked.

However, prosecutors said TriMED would lower employees’ rates during periods when they worked overtime, thereby negating the extra wages they would have earned for working those extra hours.

“By lowering the rates, the employer concealed the fact that they paid all hours as straight time,” the department said.

Additionally, TriMED didn’t pay workers for time spent traveling to clients’ homes.

Per a judgment reached in December, TriMED must pay $1.9 million in back wages, plus an additional $1.9 million in damages, documents show.

“This is a significant recovery of back wages and liquidated damages for people who typically work for low wages and often struggle to make ends meet,” Principal Deputy Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said. “Employers must understand that federal law requires them to respect workers’ rights to be paid all of their earned wages, and that we will investigate those who fail to meet their obligations.”

McClatchy News reached out to an attorney representing TriMED for comment on Jan. 10 and was awaiting a response.

This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Home care provider owes $3.8 million after cheating 433 workers out of pay, feds say."