ResCare Inc. subsidiary in West Virginia ordered to pay nearly $280K in back wages and damages after US Labor Department investigation

Employer Name: RSCR West Virginia Inc., doing business as Community Alternatives WV, is a subsidiary of ResCare Inc. that provides home health care for individuals with disabilities throughout West Virginia.

Investigation Site: 305 Water Street, Stonewood, West Virginia, 26301 and locations in Clarksburg, Keyser, Parkersburg, Buckhannon, Huntington, and Charleston, West Virginia.

Investigation Findings: Investigators from the department's Wage and Hour Division found that Community Alternatives WV incorrectly classified 55 employees working as salaried service coordinators and therapeutic consultants as exempt from overtime, resulting in violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act when those employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but did not receive overtime. Additionally, the employer did not keep accurate time and attendance records.

Resolution: On August 17, Judge John Preston Bailey, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, approved a consent judgment between the department and the employer. As a result of the judgment, RSCR paid a total of $279,919 in back wages and damages to 55 employees. This includes $139,959 in back wages and an additional equal amount in liquidated damages for all affected employees.

Quote: "It is an employer's responsibility to know and implement the labor laws that apply to them and to ensure that these laws are followed throughout their organizations," said John DuMont, director of the division's Pittsburgh District Office. "Employers should not assume that simply paying a worker a salary or calling them a manager or coordinator means that they are not entitled to overtime — there are very specific criteria that must be met for an employee to be exempt from those requirements. We are committed, through both enforcement and education, to ensuring a level playing field for businesses and a fair day's pay for a fair day's work for all employees."

Civil Action Number: 2:14-cv-00048-JPB