US Department of Labor recovers $375K in back wages, damages for 806 workers denied overtime by Rochester-based nursing homes

BUFFALO, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $375,649 in back wages and liquidated damages for 806 current and former employees of nursing homes in upstate New York that denied them overtime pay in violation of federal law.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Hurlbut Health Consulting LLC – doing business as Hurlbut Care and Hurlbut Care Communities – violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when it failed to pay workers time-and-one-half rates for hours over 40 in a workweek. 

Specifically, the investigation found Hurlbut failed to combine hours worked when employees, including certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and some non-nursing employees, worked at multiple locations in a week. The employer also miscalculated the weighted average when paying overtime and failed to include bonuses and shift differentials in calculating employees’ required rates of pay. 

“Nursing home employees, including nurses and nursing assistants, provide essential care for patients that helps maintain their dignity and support their ongoing needs. They absolutely deserve the wages they have rightfully earned for their hard work and dedication,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Michael Milazzo in Albany, New York. “Despite previous experience and knowledge of the law’s requirements, Hurlbut Health Consulting has allowed new violations to occur, resulting in costly consequences.”

In addition to the back wages and liquidated damages, Hurlbut has paid $69,519 in civil money penalties to the department for their willful and repeated violations. The division identified similar violations in previous investigations of this employer.

The back wages and liquidated damages cover affected former and current workers in Rochester at Brightonian Nursing & Rehabilitation, Hamilton Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation, The Hurlbut, Latta Road Nursing Home East, Latta Road Nursing Home West, The Shore Winds Nursing Home and Woodside Manor Nursing Home; in Avon at Avon Nursing & Rehabilitation; in Hornell at Hornell Gardens; in Livonia at Conesus Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation; in Newark at Newark Manor; in Penfield at Penfield Place Nursing & Rehabilitation; and in Waterloo at Seneca Nursing and Rehabilitation. 

Headquartered in Rochester, Hurlbut Health Consulting LLC was founded in 2010 and operates skilled nursing home facilities in Livingston, Monroe, Seneca, Steuben and Wayne counties.

In fiscal year 2023, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $31.7 million in back wages for more than 24,000 workers in the healthcare industry nationwide. The Wage and Hour Division offers resources for health care workers and employers on its website. 

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including the Workers Owed Wages search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. The division offers confidential compliance assistance to anyone with questions about how to comply with the law by calling the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages, regardless of their immigration status. Download the agency’s Timesheet App for iOS and Android devices – free and available in English and Spanish – to ensure hours and pay are accurate.