New Jersey healthcare staffing company pays $263K to 46 workers at veterans’ medical centers following US Department of Labor investigation

NEW YORK – When Mitchell Martin Health Care LLC contracted with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2020 to provide registered nurses and respiratory therapists to help care for an influx of coronavirus-related patients at four DVA medical centers in the New York City area, it committed to complying with federal wage and contracting laws.

However, a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that the Iselin, New Jersey, healthcare staffing company failed to comply with wage and fringe benefits requirements under the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act , Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The investigation led to the department’s recovery of $263,289 in back wages for 46 employees.

Investigators found that the contractor violated the SCA when it failed to pay five employees the prevailing wage rate and failed to pay required health and welfare benefits or holiday pay to 46 employees. They also did not pay CWHSSA-required overtime compensation to three employees, while one employee did not receive FLSA-required overtime wages.

“Contractors providing services and performing work for federal government agencies must comply with all of the obligations specified in their contracts. The U.S. Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring employers pay essential workers all the wages they earned,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Jorge Alvarez in New York. “Such violations can be prevented if employers know and understand their legal requirements. The Wage and Hour Division encourages employers with compliance questions to contact us.”

For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.