Tampa assisted living facility to pay more than $56K in back wages to 9 employees following US Labor Department investigation

Employer name: Toria’s Adult Living Facilities I & II, doing business as Toria’s Support Care Services Inc.

Investigation site: 3702 E. Osborne Ave., Tampa, Florida 33619

Investigation findings: Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Tampa District Office, found that Toria’s Support Care Services violated the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The employer misclassified one maintenance worker and one care provider as independent contractors instead of employees, and failed to pay them the federal minimum wage and overtime.

The employer also improperly paid other employees flat salaries without regard to how many hours they worked. In some instances, these salaries failed to cover the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, and when employees worked more than 40 hours in a week the employer failed to pay them legally required overtime. Simply paying an employee a salary does not necessarily mean the employee is not entitled to receive minimum wage and overtime. There are specific requirements for exemptions for salaried employees.

Resolution: Toria’s Support Care Services will pay back wages totaling $56,256 to nine employees.

Quote: “This industry employs some of the most vulnerable, low-wage workers we see,” said James Schmidt, the Wage and Hour Division’s district director in Tampa. “Misclassification is particularly harmful to these workers, as it cheats them out of the benefits and protections they’re legally entitled to as employees. Unfortunately, we are seeing too many employers using this practice in an attempt to lower their labor costs. We continue to use all available resources to end this practice and to ensure that these workers, and others like them, bring home every cent they have rightfully earned.”

Information: Information regarding the department’s  initiative to combat the misclassification of employees as independent contractors is available at:  http://www.dol.gov/whd/workers/Misclassification/index.htm

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Employers are prohibited from retaliating against workers who exercise their rights under the law.

For more information about the FLSA and wage laws or to file a complaint, call the Wage and Hour Division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243); the Tampa District Office at 813-626-1177 or visit http://www.dol.gov/whd.