U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Consent Judgment Ordering Yonkers Care Facility to Pay $385,000 in Back Wages, Damages, and Penalties

WHITE PLAINS, NY – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a consent judgment requiring Hudson View Care Center Inc. - doing business as Regency Extended Care Center - and owner Michael Melnicke to pay $182,500 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 81 employees, plus $20,000 in civil penalties. The judgment follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that identified violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the Yonkers extended care facility.

Investigators found the employer failed to pay employees for all the hours they worked. Specifically, certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses routinely worked through unpaid meal breaks and nursing staff regularly performed uncompensated work before and after their scheduled shifts. In addition, the employer improperly classified one employee as exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements, resulting in uncompensated work hours and unpaid overtime.

“This employer’s practices denied employees payment of all the wages they were legally due,” said WHD Albany District Director Jay Rosenblum. “Such violations are preventable. We encourage employers to reach out to the Wage and Hour Division and to use the tools and resources it provides to learn about their legal responsibilities, avoid violations, and operate in compliance with the law.”

“The resolution ensures workers are protected from FLSA violations, and levels the playing field for employers who play by the rules,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.

The judgment also prohibits the business and its owners from withholding the back pay and liquidated damages from employees and from discriminating against any employees who exercise their rights under the FLSA. The Division’s Albany District Office conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Susan Jacobs of the regional solicitor’s office in New York litigated the matter for the Department.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the Division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/whd, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the Division.