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 Printer-Friendly Version
ESA-WHD New Release: [09/15/1997]
Contact Name: Brad Mitchell or Juan Solano
Phone Number: (312) 353-6976
Release Number: V-263
PALO GROUP FOSTER HOME INC., PALO, MICH., AND ABRAHAM JOSHUA, OWNER AND ADMINISTRATOR OF RAMSDELL FOSTER CARE, ROCKFORD, MICH., ORDERED TO PAY $121,107 IN BACK WAGES AND LIQUIDATED DAMAGES
Firms enjoined from future violations
Chicago — The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that Palo Group Foster Home Inc., Palo, Mich., and Abraham Joshua, owner and administrator of Ramsdell Foster Care, Rockford, Mich., have been ordered to pay $121,107.32 in back wages and liquidated damages to employees for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor standards Act (FLSA).
A summary judgment was granted by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Alan Enslen, Western District of Michigan, Kalamazoo. The judgment permanently enjoined both foster homes and Abraham, Joshua from future minimum wage, overtime and record keeping violations of the FLSA. Joshua is the owner and administrator of Ramsdell Foster Care and was the president of the defunct Palo Group Foster Home. The Judgment also ordered Joshua and the corporation to pay for the costs of litigation.
Palo Group Foster Home Inc. and Ramsdell Foster Care provided adult foster care to the sick, aged and mentally ill in western Michigan.
The court allowed a three-year period of back wage liability because of the willful nature of the violations. Employees that formerly worked at Palo Group Foster Home, 8442 Judevine Road, Palo, are owed $47,509.27 from April 1993 to June 1996. Ramsdell Foster Care, 12471 Ramsdell Road, Rockford, owes employees $13,044.39 fox the period May 1993 to April 1996. The court also ordered payment of an additional $60,553.66 in liquidated damages.
Wage and Hour District Director James Smith in Detroit said, "This case illustrates that employers cannot continue to violate federal wage and hour law. The Labor Department will pursue all remedies to ensure that employees are properly paid under the FLSA, especially employees in low-wage industries such as adult foster care homes."
The 1995 investigation that resulted in the lawsuit found that both foster homes paid workers a fixed rate for each shift regardless of the number of hours actually worked. The firms also failed to keep records of the number of hours worked. As a result, minimum wage violations occurred when weekly payments to employees were not enough to equal the minimum wage for all hours worked by employees. In addition, employees did not receive time and one-half for hours worked in excess of 40 in a week.
Previous investigations of Palo Group Foster Home by the Labor Department in 1983 and 1985 found similar violations. In each case, the department told Joshua of his wage payment obligations and that he was required to keep accurate records of hours worked by employees and other payroll records. In each case, Joshua stated his intention to comply fully in the future.
The Wage and Hour Division of the Employment standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The law sets a federal minimum wage of $5.15 since September 1, 1997, for most workers. The minimum wage was $4.75 from October 1996 through August 1997 and $4.25 from April 1991 through September 1996. The law generally requires overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in any workweek and sets Standards for employment of minors.
The FLSA requires employers to maintain records of all hours worked and wages paid to employees. Additional records are often needed in adult foster homes. Such records include documentation substantiating the cost of furnishing board, lodging, or other facilities to employees. Adult foster homes should also keep records of time spent sleeping by employees working longer than 24-hour shifts if the employer intends to claim a credit for these items under the FLSA.
The legal action followed an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division office, 2920 Fuller, N.E., Suite 100, Grand Rapids Mich., under the supervision of James Smith, district director.
His telephone number is 313-226-6937.
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