Miami Dialysis Service Companies to Pay $110,819 in Back Wages After U.S. Department of Labor Uncovers Overtime Violations

MIAMI, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Miami, Florida-based dialysis service companies – Olympus Healthcare Inc., Apollo Renal Center LLC, and Americare Renal Center LLC – will pay $110,819 in back wages to 34 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The WHD investigation determined Olympus Healthcare Inc., Apollo Renal Center LLC and Americare Renal Center LLC – all owned and operated by Federico Dumenigo – incorrectly classified some employees as independent contractors, and paid them a flat fee per patient seen regardless of the number of hours they worked. This practice led to an FLSA violation when employees worked more than 40 hours in a workweek but the employer failed to pay them overtime. The employer’s failure to keep a record of the number of hours employees worked also resulted in a recordkeeping violation.

“Employees must be paid all the wages they have legally earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Tony Pham, in Miami, Florida. “The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to educating employers and improving compliance with federal labor laws to protect American workers and level the playing field for law-abiding employers. Other employers should use the resolution of this case as an opportunity to review their own pay practices to avoid violations like those found in this case.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos and confidential calls to local WHD offices.

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Wage and Hour Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. Information is also available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

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 paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, 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.