Investigators from the U.S. Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that St James Home for the Elderly violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The firm paid the employees only for their scheduled hours, and failed to pay for any time spent caring for patients or performing other work-related duties before or after their scheduled shifts.  Failing to pay for this time resulted in employees not receiving their legally-required overtime when they worked more than forty hours in a workweek. The firm also failed to keep an accurate record of hours worked.  To remedy these violations the employer will pay $103,724 to 40 employees.

The FLSA requires that covered, non-exempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In general, “hours worked” includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer’s premises or at any other prescribed place of work, from the beginning of the first principal work activity to the end of the last principal activity of the workday. Employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records, and are prohibited from retaliating against workers who exercise their rights under the law.