Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Personal Nursing Care in Oklahoma City has agreed to pay $98,900 in overtime back wages after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found that 68 home health care nurses had not been properly paid as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The investigation, covering the two-year period from Oct. 9, 2005, to Oct. 9, 2007, determined that the company had violated the FLSA by failing to properly pay employees overtime wages. The company misapplied the professional exemption when, in fact, these employees were entitled to overtime compensation.

“Employees should receive the wages to which they are legally entitled,” said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “In this case, the employer failed to pay time and one-half employees’ regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.”

Personal Nursing Care, which provides skilled nursing services to patients in their homes, has agreed to pay all back wages and to comply with the FLSA in the future.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $5.85 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay. Employers must also maintain accurate time and payroll records. The FLSA provides an exemption from both minimum wage and overtime pay for bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales employees. To qualify for exemption, employees generally must meet certain job duty and salary tests.

The Wage and Hour Division concluded 30,467 compliance actions and recovered a record $220 million in back wages for more than 341,000 employees in fiscal year 2007. Back-wage collections in fiscal year 2007 represent a 67 percent increase over back wages collected in fiscal year 2001. The number of workers receiving back wages has increased by 58 percent since fiscal year 2001.

For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labor’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or contact the Wage and Hour Division’s Little Rock District Office at 501-223-9114. Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov. Information about the current exemption can be found on the Internet at www.dol.gov/fairpay.

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