U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Missouri Health Care Facility Paying $42,696 in Back Wages

FLORISSANT, MO – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Helia Healthcare – doing business as Pillars of North County – has agreed to pay $42,696 in back wages to 99 current and former nursing staff employed at the long-term care facility in Florissant, Missouri. WHD investigators found violations of the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

“Employers must understand how to calculate overtime properly to ensure that workers are paid all of the wages they have legally earned, and must ensure that they record all the hours employees actually work – these hours are sometimes very different than what appears on a posted schedule,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jim Yochim, in St. Louis, Missouri. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and operate in compliance. We encourage all employers to make use of the wide variety of tools we provide, and to call us directly with any questions.”
WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act, and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.