A Golden Valley home health care agency will pay 82 current and former workers more than $483,000 in back pay and penalties for failing to pay overtime over a two-year period.
Alliance HHC & Nursing Service and its owner, Robin Nyangena, agreed to the settlement after the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division found that the agency paid employees at straight-time rates regardless of the number of hours worked. The home health agency also failed to preserve accurate records, according to court filings.
Federal law requires employers to pay overtime to those who work more than 40 hours in a work week.
Neither Nyangena nor anyone at Alliance HHC & Nursing could be reached for comment.
The home health care agency launched in 2007 and specializes in serving clients from different cultural backgrounds, including those from the Hmong, Somalian, Russian and Spanish communities, according to its website.
Employees at Alliance provide skilled nursing care, home-based nursing, help with day-to-day activities and therapy services.
The payment covers unpaid wages of $241,582 between Aug. 13, 2016, and Aug. 10, 2018, plus a penalty that doubles that amount, according to the settlement agreement approved Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota.
In announcing the decision, the U.S. Department of Labor noted that the home health care industry employs many of the nation's low-wage workers and that women, immigrants and people of color often hold those jobs.
