US Department of Labor files suit to force Houston-area owner, operator of homes for people with special needs to pay overtime wages, damages

HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked a federal court in Houston to stop the owner and operator of 17 single-family residential group homes and a day habilitation center for adults with disabilities from violating several federal employment regulations and to pay dozens of current and former employees back wages they’re owed as well as damages.

The department filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas alleges TEAM Abilities LLC and its founder and CEO Rachel Jelks willfully failed to pay overtime to the majority of her employees who regularly worked more than 40 hours in a workweek in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.                                                           

The action follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found the company, operating as T.E.A.M. Abilities, required direct care staff working in residential facilities to work 16 – 24 hour shifts and did not provide adequate sleeping accommodations or rest periods. Direct care staff slept in recliners or on couches and were frequently interrupted, sometimes as often as every half hour, to provide resident care throughout the night. Jelks and T.E.A.M. Abilities chose to pay many of these direct care staff members straight time for all hours worked.

The division also learned Jelks willfully withheld some direct care employees’ overtime pay because they asked to be treated as independent contractors for tax purposes, which is not allowed under federal law. Recent regulations address how the department determines if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

When the investigation concluded, the division calculated $115,077 in overtime wages and $115,077 in liquidated damages owed to 56 current and former workers. As T.E.A.M. Abilities continues to violate the law, those amounts continue to increase.

“Employers must pay time  one-half an employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek when an employee is not exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Southwest Regional Wage and Hour Division Administrator Betty Campbell. “Our investigation found T.E.A.M. Abilities violated the law willfully and continues to ignore the law while its employees are suffering financially for its defiance.”

In its filing, the department seeks back wages owed for a period of three years due to the willful nature of the violations, an equal amount in liquidated damages, and an injunction requiring future FLSA compliance. In addition, the action asks the court to assess the employers with the department’s costs for its litigation and an order granting other further relief as necessary and appropriate. 

“The Department of Labor is committed to protecting workers’ rights to be paid all of their hard-earned wages and will use all legal means necessary to recover their money,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Dallas. “T.E.A.M. Abilities and CEO Rachel Jelks will ultimately learn there are costly consequences for employers who mistakenly believe they can refuse to comply with federal labor regulations.”

Based in Spring Texas, TEAM Abilities LLC provides assisted living services in the Houston area for adults with disabilities. Its services include assistance with adaptive equipment and aids, providing temporary relief for caregivers, supporting individuals in community living settings, offering mental health services, ensuring oral health, making living quarters safer and more accessible, and assisting with job placement and support.

For more information about the Fair Labor Standards Act and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline confidentially at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of where a caller is from.

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. Download the agency’s new Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.