US Labor Department sues Houston-area residential group home operator seeking $2.2M in unpaid wages, liquidated damages for 68 employees

Date of Action: Oct. 27, 2016

Type of Action: Lawsuit

Name of Defendants: Five Oaks Achievement Center LLC
Whispering Hills Achievement Center LLC
North Fork Educational Center LLC

Allegation: The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Five Oaks Achievement Center LLC, Whispering Hills Achievement Center LLC and North Fork Educational Center LLC, all of which operate under common control, alleging the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the Houston-area employer made illegal deductions from employees’ pay for sleep time after failing to ensure that they actually received the amount of uninterrupted sleep time required to allow the deduction, and failed to provide adequate sleeping facilities. The allegations follow an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Quote: “These workers who assist troubled youth do important and often challenging work,” said Betty Campbell, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “This employer, like all employers, has a duty to know the law and abide by it. If employees perform work during their rest or sleep periods, the employer must pay them for that time. This lawsuit demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that when people work, they get paid, and that hard working employees take home every penny they have rightfully earned.”

Resolution: The department seeks $1,132,630 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for uncompensated sleeping hours for 68 direct care workers and an injunction for future compliance with the FLSA.

Background: Based in Houston, Five Oaks Achievement Center LLC operates for-profit residential group homes for troubled youth under the age of 18. The residents are sent to the defendants’ group homes either by court order or by their parents. Defendants employ direct care staff that directly supervise and care for the residents at each of the group homes.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division

Docket Number: 4:16-cv-3162

Editor’s Note: The initial release incorrectly identified the docket number. The correct docket number is 4:16-cv-3162.