US Department of Labor recovers $30K from Tennessee assisted living centers operator for retaliating against employee

NASHVILLE, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $31,761 in back wages and damages from a Tennessee operator of assisted living communities that illegally fired one worker for questioning the employer’s pay practices and denied full overtime wages to seven care workers.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division found Family First LLC, owner of Bailey Manor, terminated an employee who questioned the facility’s pay practices. Investigators also determined the employer did not include pay for time spent on-call when calculating overtime wages for seven employees at its Manchester location for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The Wage and Hour Division will not tolerate employers that intimidate or retaliate against workers or deprive them of their legally earned wages,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Lisa Kelly in Nashville, Tennessee. “In addition to protecting workers’ wages, federal law forbids employers from taking action against employees because they engage in protected activities, such as asking about their pay, filing a complaint or cooperating with a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.”

The division recovered $30,000 in back wages, liquidated and punitive damages for the employee wrongly terminated and $1,761 in back wages and liquidated damages for seven other employees.

Family First LLC operates five assisted living communities in Tennessee for seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or other forms of memory loss in Chattanooga, Cookeville, Fayetteville, Manchester and Winchester.

Workers and employers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions, and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the agency, contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). The division also offers online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements.

Workers and employers can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android or iPhone Timesheet App for free in English and Spanish.