US Department of Labor recovers $260K in back wages for 61 caregivers employed by Sarasota nursing staff agency that denied them overtime

Employer:   CSI Catalano’s Nurses Registry Inc., operating as CSI

Investigation site: 3801 Bee Ridge Road,  Sarasota, FL 34233

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the Florida nurse registry staffing service misclassified caregivers as independent contractors and paid them straight-time rates for all hours worked. By doing so, the employer failed to pay the employees a time-and-a-half premium for hours over 40 hours in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A consent judgment entered in the Northern District of Florida by the Office of the Solicitor resolved the case after a period of litigation, with the employer also agreeing with a court order not to commit future violations.

Back Wages Recovered: $260,221 for 61 workers.                            

Quote: “All workers deserve the wages they legally earned, including those who provide essential care to people in our communities,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Nicolas Ratmiroff in Tampa, Florida. “Employers should contact the Wage and Hour Division to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. In this case, the employer should have followed federal law in making their determination. When federal and state regulations conflict, employers must abide by the more restrictive of the regulations.”

Background: The Sarasota-based CSI Catalano’s Nurses Registry Inc. is part of Caregiver Services Inc. in Miami, and one of 14 nurse registries in 47 Florida counties. The company provides staffing that includes registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, home health aides and companions.

The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.

Employers and workers can call the division confidentially with questions regardless of their immigration status. The department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to ensure hours and pay are accurate.